"CHICAGO" 


AND  ITS 


CESS- POOLS 

OF 

....INFAMY 


•«•• 


a 


ST 
SAMUEL    PAYMTER    WILSON 


r 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

f       SAN  DIEGO        * 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2007  witli  funding  from 

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CHICAGO  AND  ITS  CESS 
POOLS  OF  INFAMY 

BY 
SAMUEL  PAYNTER  WILSON 

Author  ol  "Chicatro  by  Ca«  Lieht",  "Wilson's  Epitome 

•f  Historical   and  ChronoloKical  Kacts"  and 

"Wilaon's   Coaci**  History." 


DEDICATED 

TO  THE  GOOD 

MEN  AND  WOMEN  OF  THE  WORLD 

WITH  THE  HOPE  THAT  THE 

VICIOUS  MAY  BECOME  BETTER 
MEN  AND  WOMEN 


Mr.  Samuel  payntek  Wilson. 

Chicago,  111. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND:— 

I  have  read  your  book  with  great  interest.  It 
tells  the  truth,  though  no  book  can  tell  all  the 
truth.  You  have  been  a  great  help  to  our  com- 
munity by  the  practical  and  useful  service  you 
have  rendered  in  the  investigation  of  vice  and 
the  bringing  of  those  responsible  for  it  to  justice. 
Our  city  is  the  better  for  your  work. 

I  hope  your  book  will  do  much  good.  If  par- 
ents but  knew  the  dangers  that  confront  their 
boys  and  girls  in  our  great  cities,  they  would  at 
least  take  some  ordinary  precautions  before  turn- 
ing children  adrift  amid  these  perils. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

MORTON  CULVER  HARTZELL, 

President  of  the  Douglas  Neighborhood  Club. 


Contents. 


Pages 

Dedication    3 

Hartzell's  Letter    4 

Preface    7-11 

Chicago    13-22 

Chicago  Society    23-34 

The  White  Slave  Traffic 35-58 

Smashing  the  Traffic 59-74 

Why  Girls  Go  Astray 75-85 

More  About  the  Traffic  in  Shame 86-90 

Crime  in  Chicago 91-103 

The  Police   105-119 

The  Lost  Sisterhood 121-140 

Chicago's  Crowning  Curse 141-148 

Gambling  Hells    149-160 

Criminal  Operations    161-163 

Life  Under  the  Shadows 165-173 

The  Pawnbrokers   175-184 

Pacific  Garden  Mission 185-191 

Churches  193-196 

Concert  Saloons  and  Damnation 197-201 

Divorces    203-215 

Tramp's  Paradise  217-219 

Theatres    220-223 


PREFACE 

Chicago  is  to  the  West  what  New  York  is  to 
the  East.  It  is  not  only  the  Great  Metropolis  of 
the  western  states,  but  is  the  chief  attraction  upon 
this  continent,  the  great  center  to  which  our  peo- 
ple resort  for  business,  and  pleasure,  and  as  such« 
is  a  source  of  never-failing  interest. 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  natural  that  every 
American  should  desire  to  visit  Chicago,  to  see 
the  city  for  himself,  behold  its  beauties,  its  won- 
derful sights,  and  participate  in  the  pleasures 
which  are  to  be  enjoyed  only  in  the  metropolis. 
Thousands  avail  themselves  of  this  privilege  every 
year ;  but  the  great  mass  of  our  people  know  our 
chief  city  only  by  the  description  of  friends  and 
the  brief  accounts  of  its  sights  and  scenes  which 
occur  from  time  to  time  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
day.  Even  those  who  visit  the  city  bring  away 
but  a  superficial  knowledge  of  it,  as  to  know 
Chicago  requires  months  of  constant  study  and 
investigation.     Strangers  see  only  the  surface; 


PBEFACE 

they  cannot  penetrate  into  its  inner  life,  and  ex- 
amine the  countless  influences  at  work  every  day 
in  shaping  the  destiny  of  the  beautiful  city.  Few 
even  of  the  residents  of  the  metropolis,  have 
either  the  time  or  means  for  such  investigation. 
Few  have  a  correct  idea  of  the  terrible  romance 
and  hard  reality  of  the  daily  lives  of  a  vast  por- 
tion of  the  dwellers  in  Chicago,  or  of  the  splen- 
dors and  luxury  of  the  wealthier  classes. 

One  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  Chicago  is 
the  rapidity  with  which  changes  occur  in  it. 
Those  who  were  familiar  with  the  city  in  the  past 
will  find  it  new  to  them  now.  The  march  of 
progress  and  improvement  presses  on  with  giant 
Btrides,  and  the  city  of  today  is  widely  separated 
from  that  of  a  few  years  ago.  Only  one  who 
has  devoted  himself  to  watching  its  onward  career, 
in  prosperity,  and  magnificence  or  in  misery  and 
crime,  can  form  any  idea  of  the  magnitude  and 
character  of  the  wonderful  changes  of  the  past 
twenty-five  years. 

The  volume  now  offered  to  the  reader  aims  to 
be  a  faithful  and  graphic  pen  picture  of  Chicago 
and  its  countless  sights,  its  romance,  its  mysteries, 
its  nobler   and  better   efforts   in  the   cause  of 


8 


PBEFACE 

humanity,  its  dark  crimes,  and  terrible  tragedies. 
In  short,  the  work  endeavors  to  hold  up  to  the 
reader  a  faithful  mirror  in  which  shall  pass  all 
the  varied  scenes  that  transpire  in  Chicago  by 
sunlight  and  by  gaslight.  To  those  who  have 
seen  the  great  city,  the  work  is  offered  as  a  means 
of  recalling  some  of  the  pleasantest  experiences 
of  their  lives;  while  to  the  still  larger  class  who 
have  never  enjoyed  this  pleasure,  it  is  hoped  that 
it  will  be  the  medium  of  acquiring  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  Chicago  in  the  quiet  of  their 
homes. 

This  volume  is  not  a  work  of  fiction,  but  a  nar- 
rative of  well  authenticated,  though  often  start- 
ling facts.  The  darker  sides  of  Chicago  life  are 
shown  in  their  true  colors,  and  without  any  effort 
to  tone  them  down.  Foul  blots  are  to  be  found 
upon  the  life  of  the  great  city.  Sin,  vice,  crime 
and  shame  are  terrible  realities  there,  and  they 
have  been  presented  here  as  they  actually  exist. 

Throughout  the  work,  the  aim  of  the  author  has 
been  to  warn  those  who  wish  to  see  for  themselves 
the  darker  side  of  city  life,  of  the  danger  attend- 
ing such  undertaking.  A  man  who  seeks  the 
haunts  of  vice  and  crime  in  Chicago  takes  his 


9 


PREFACE 

life  in  his  hand  and  exposes  himself  to  dangers 
of  the  most  real  kind  while  in  quest  of  knowledge. 

Enough  is  told  in  this  volume  to  satisfy  legiti- 
mate curiosity,  and  to  convince  the  reader  that  the 
only  path  of  safety  in  Chicago  is  to  avoid  all 
places  of  doubtful  repute.  The  city  is  bright  and 
beautiful  enough  to  occupy  one's  time  with  its 
wonderful  sights  and  innocent  pleasures.  To  ven- 
ture under  the  shadows  is  to  covet  danger  in  all 
its  forms.  No  matter  how  "Wise  in  his  own  con- 
ceit" a  stranger  may  be,  he  is  but  a  child  in  the 
hands  of  the  disreputable  classes  of  the  great 
city. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  the  author  has 
drawn  freely  upon  his  experiences,  the  result  of 
a  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  all  the 
various  phases  of  Chicago  life.  He  ventures  to 
hope  that  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  subject 
will  recognize  the  truthfulness  of  the  statements 
made  and  that  the  book  may  prove  a  source  of 
pleasure  and  profit  to  all  who  may  honor  it  with 
a  perusal. 

But  to  destroy  the  pitfalls,  and  to  blot  out 
forever  the   vicious   places  that  yawn   for   the 


10 


PSEFACE 

youths  of  our  land,  is  the  chief  aim  in  spreading 
in  plain  view  the  picture  here  presented. 

The  monsters  may  snort  and  foam,  and  clap 
their  chubby  hands  for  a  while,  and  laugh  at  the 
destruction  they  have  wrought,  but  we  say  to 
them,  the  ship  is  not  wrecked  yet,  and  in  the  lull 
of  the  storm,  we  bid  our  readers  to  be  of  good 
cheer. 

The  publication  of  any  book  must  deal  largely 
in  facts  and  if  in  presenting  these  dreadful  pic- 
tures to  the  public  they  may  be  the  means  of  sav- 
ing some  mother's  boy  or  girl  from  the  "brands 
of  eternal  burning,"  we  shall  feel  that  we  have 
accomplished  that  which  money  cannot  buy— a 
olear  conscience. 

SAMUEL  PAYNTER  WILSON. 


11 


CHICAGO 


Twenty-five  years  in  Chicago!  What  amazing 
tragedies,  and  heart-rending  scenes  have  been  cast 
to  the  winds  in  that  quarter  of  a  centiu^  ?  Could 
a  departed  spirit  of  the  earlier  days  be  trans- 
ported to  modern  Chicago,  the  grand  panorama 
would  amaze  it,  even  though  it  be  endowed  with 
universal  wisdom. 

Many  historical  landmarks  have  given  way  to 
multitudinous  mountains  of  brick  and  mortar. 
Where  once  stood  the  *'low  grocery,"  now  are 
erected  monuments  of  commerce.  Vicious  places, 
where  lips  have  touched  wine  sweetened  by  vile 
and  despicable  men,  are  now  splendid  buildings, 
churches,  temples  of  learning  and  other  great 
structures. 

The  growth  and  development  of  Chicago  is 
without  parallel,  and  without  precedent.  Its  fu- 
ture has  been  often  prophesied,  but  not  always 
understood.  When  we  undertake  to  trace  the 
eauses  that  have  led  to  its  commercial  supremacy. 


13 


CHICAGO 

and  those  that  are  now  operating  to  increase  its 
prosperity,  we  are  met  by  singular  and  fatuons 
circumstances,  which  it  was  impossible  to  foresee 
and  not  easy  to  comprehend.  One  thing  is,  how- 
ever, certain,  that  the  anticipations  of  the  most 
sanguine  have  always  been  more  than  realized, 
while  the  prognostications  of  the  doubtful  have 
only  been  remembered  for  their  fallacy. 

The  progressive  growth  of  the  city  has  been 
often  capricious,  so  far  as  locality  is  concerned, 
but  the  important  factor  of  topography  has  al- 
ways asserted  itself,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  ig- 
nore it  in  the  interests  of  individual  projects. 

The  people  of  Chicago  represent  every  nation- 
ality upon  the  Globe,  and  thus  give  to  the  city 
the  cosmopolitan  character  which  is  one  of  its 
most  prominent  features.  But  no  city  on  the  con- 
tinent is  so  thoroughly  American  as  this.  The  na- 
tive population  is  the  ruling  element,  and  makes 
the  great  city  what  it  is,  whether  for  good  or  for 
evil.  The  children  and  grandchildren  of  foreign- 
ers soon  lose  their  old  world  ideas  and  habits  and 
the  third  generation  sees  them  as  genuine  and  de- 
voted Americans  as  any  in  the  city. 

The  besetting  sin  of  the  foreign  born  citizen  is 


14 


CHICAGO 

their  race  for  wealth ;  the  very  struggle  for  exist* 
enee  is  so  eager  and  intense  here,  that  the  peo- 
ple think  little  of  public  or  religious  affairs,  and 
leave  their  city  government,  with  all  its  vast  in- 
terests, in  the  hands  of  a  few  politicians.  They 
pay  dearly  for  this  neglect  of  such  important  in- 
terests. They  are  taxed  and  plundered  by  politi- 
cal tricksters,  and  are  forced  to  bear  burdens 
and  submit  to  losses  which  could  be  avoided  by 
a  more  patriotic  and  sensible  treatment  of  their 
affairs. 

The  race  for  wealth  is  a  very  exciting  one  in  the 
great  city.  The  interests  at  stake  are  so  vast,  the 
competition  so  constant  and  close,  that  men  are 
compelled  to  be  on  the  watch  all  the  time,  and 
to  work  with  rapidity  and  almost  without  rest. 
Every  nerve,  every  muscle,  every  power  and  fac- 
ulty of  body  and  mind,  is  taxed  to  the  utmost 
to  discharge  the  duty  of  the  day.  Go  into  any 
of  the  large  establishments  of  the  city  during  bus- 
iness hours  and  you  will  be  amazed  at  the  cease- 
less rush  and  push  of  clerks  and  customers.  It  is 
one  of  unending  drive.  They  cannot  always  stand 
the  strain  upon  them,  and  die  off  by  the  hundreds, 


CHICAGO 

at  a  time  of  life  when  they  ought  to  be  looking 
forward  to  a  hearty  old  age. 

A  gentleman  once  said  to  the  writer  of  these 
pages : 

"I  came  to  Chicago  at  the  opening  of  the 
"World's  Fair  to  seek  employment.  I  came  up  the 
Mississippi  River  as  far  as  St.  Louis,  full  of  hope 
and  confidence.  The  trip  up  the  river  gave  new 
life  to  this  feeling.  I  knew  I  was  competent,  and 
I  was  resolved  to  succeed.  I  landed  at  one  of  the 
nearby  depots  and  taking  up  my  valise  started 
up  town,  I  turned  into  State  Street,  and  as  I 
did  so,  found  myself  in  a  steady  stream  of  human 
beings,  each  hurrying  by  as  if  his  life  depended 
upon  his  speed,  taking  no  notice  of  his  fellows, 
pushing  and  jostling  them,  and  each  with  a  weary, 
jaded,  anxious  look  upon  his  face.  As  I  gazed 
at  this  mighty  torrent  I  was  dismayed,  I  got  as 
far  as  State  and  Madison  Streets,  and  then  I  put 
my  valise  upon  the  pavement,  and  leaning  against 
a  convenient  lamp-post,  watched  them  as  they 
passed  me  by ;  they  came  by  hundreds,  thousands, 
all  with  eager,  restless  gait  that  I  now  know 
so  well ;  all  with  the  weary,  anxious,  careworn  ex- 
pression I  have  mentioned,  as  if  trying  to  reach 


16 


CHICAGO 

Bome  distant  goal  within  a  given  time.  They 
seemed  to  say  to  me,  *we  would  gladly  stop  if  we 
could,  and  rest  by  the  way,  but  we  must  go  on 
and  on  and  know  no  rest.*  I  asked  myself  what 
chance  have  I  here?  Can  I  keep  up  with  this 
mighty,  eager,  restless  throng,  or  will  they  pass 
me,  and  leave  me  behind?"  "Well,"  he  added, 
with  a  sad  smile,  "I  have  managed  to  keep  up 
with  them,  but  I  tell  you  it's  a  hard  strain.  We 
are  all  living  too  fast;  we  are  working  too  hard, 
we  grind,  grind  at  our  treadmills  all  day  and  we 
grind  too  hard,  we  break  down  long  before  we 
should,  this  haste,  this  furious  pace  at  which  we 
are  going,  at  business,  at  pleasure,  at  everything, 
is  the  great  curse  of  Chicago  life." 

Now,  my  friend's  opinion  is  shared  in  by  hun- 
dreds, thousands  of  the  most  sensible  men  of  the 
city,  but  they  are  powerless  to  save  themselves 
from  the  curse  they  know  to  be  upon  them.  So 
they  must  join  the  crowd,  and  rush  on  and  on, 
seeking  the  glittering  prize  of  wealth  and  fame. 

The  common  opinion  that  Chicago  is  the  para- 
dise for  humbugs  and  tricksters  is  somewhat  over- 
drawn. These  people  do  abound  here,  beyond  a 
doubt;  but  they  are  short-lived.     They  flourish 


17 


CHICAGO 

today  and  are  gone  tomorow,  they  take  no  root, 
and  have  no  hold  upon  any  genuine  interests} 
they  attain  no  permanent  success.  It  is  only  gen- 
uine merit  that  succeeds  in  the  great  city.  Men 
are  here  subjected  to  a  test  that  soon  takes  the 
conceit  out  of  them.  They  are  taken  for  just 
what  they  are  worth,  and  no  more,  and  he  must 
show  himself  a  man  indeed,  who  would  take  his 
place  among  the  princes  of  trade,  or  among  the 
leaders  of  thought  and  opinion.  He  may  bring 
with  him  from  his  distant  home  the  brightest  of 
reputations,  but  here  he  will  have  to  begin  at  the 
very  bottom  of  the  ladder  and  mount  upward 
again.  It  is  slow  work,  so  slow  that  it  tries  every 
quality  of  true  manhood  to  its  utmost. 

It  is  said  that  Chicago  is  the  wickedest  city  in 
the  country.  It  is  the  second  largest,  and  vice 
thrives  and  reigns  supreme  in  crowded  communi- 
ties. How  great  this  wickedness  is  we  may  see 
in  the  subsequent  portions  of  this  work.  If  it  is 
the  wickedest  city,  it  is  also  one  of  the  best  on 
the  continent.  If  it  contains  thousands  of  the 
worst  men  and  women  in  our  land,  it  contains 
also  thousands  of  the  brightest  and  best  of  Chris- 
tians.   In  point  of  morality,  it  will  compare  favor- 


18 


CHICAGO 

ably  with  any  city  in  the  world.  It  is  unhappily 
true  that  the  devil's  work  is  done  here  upon  a 
large  scale;  but  so  is  the  work  of  God  upon  an 
even  greater  scale.  If  the  city  contains  the  gaudi- 
est, the  most  alluring,  and  the  vilest  haunts  of  sin, 
it  also  boasts  of  the  noblest  and  grandest  institu- 
tions of  religion,  of  charity,  and  virtue. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  energy  of  the  people  in 
matters  of  business;  they  are,  in  all  respects  the 
most  enterprising  in  the  Union.  They  are  bold 
and  self-reliant;  they  take  risks  in  business  from 
which  others  shrink,  and  carry  their  ventures 
forward  with  a  resolution  and  vigor  that  cannot 
fail  of  success.  It  is  this  that  has  made  Chicago 
great;  its  people  take  a  large,  liberal  view  of 
matters ;  they  are  cosmopolitan  in  all  things. 

As  a  place  of  residence  to  those  who  have  the 
means  to  justify  it,  Chicago  is  a  most  delightful 
city.  Its  attractions  are  many  and  it  possesses  a 
peculiar  charm,  which  all  who  have  dwelt  within 
its  borders  feel. 

To  the  dweller  in  Chicago,  State  Street  is  what 
the  Boulevards  are  to  the  Parisians.  It  is  the 
center  of  life,  gayety  and  business;  the  great 
artery  through  which  flows  the  strong  life-current 


19 


CHICAGO 

of  the  metropolis.  From  the  Chicago  River  to 
Twelfth  Street  it  is  thronged  with  a  busy  crowd 
of  workers,  restless  pleasure-seekers,  the  good  and 
the  bad,  the  grave  and  the  gay,  all  hurrying  on 
in  eager  pursuit  of  the  "show  street"  of  the  city, 
and  certainly  no  more  wonderful  sight  can  be 
witnessed  than  this  grand  thoroughfare  at  high 
noon.  As  night  comes  on  the  great  hotels,  restau- 
rants and  business  emporiums,  send  out  a  blaze 
of  light,  and  are  alive  with  visitors.  The  crowd 
is  out  for  pleasure  at  night,  and  many  and  varied 
are  the  forms  which  the  pursuit  of  it  takes.  Here 
is  a  family — father,  mother  and  children — out 
for  a  stroll  to  see  the  sights  they  have  witnessed 
a  hundred  times,  and  which  never  grow  dull; 
there  is  a  party  of  theatre-goers,  bent  on  an  even- 
ing of  innocent  amusement;  here  is  a  "gang  of 
roughs,"  swaggering  along  the  sidewalks,  jost- 
ling all  who  come  within  their  way ;  here  a  party 
of  young  bloods,  out  on  a  lark,  are  drawing  upon 
themselves  the  keen  glances  of  the  stalwart  police- 
man, as  he  slowly  follows  them. 

All  sorts  of  people  are  out  and  the  scene  is 
enlivened  beyond  description.  Moving  rapidly 
through  the  throng,  sometimes  in  couples,  some- 


20 


CHICAGO 

times  alone,  and  glancing  swiftly  and  keenly  at 
the  men  they  pass,  are  a  number  of  flashily 
dressed  women,  generally  young  and  prepossess- 
ing. One  would  never  take  them  for  respect- 
able women,  as  they  do  not  intend  that  you  shall. 
These  are  the  most  degraded  of  the  "lost  sister- 
hood. ' '  The  men  of  the  city  shun  them ;  their  prey 
is  the  stranger,  and  should  they  succeed  in  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  a  victim  they  dart  off  down 
the  first  side  street,  and  wait  for  their  dupes  to 
join  them. 

Woe  to  the  man  who  follows  after  one  of  these 
creatures.  The  next  step  is  to  some  of  the  low 
dives  which  still  occupy  too  many  of  the  so-called 
** hotels"  in  the  business  district  or  perchance  to 
the  back  room  of  some  pretentious  saloon,  where 
bad  or  drugged  liquor  steals  away  the  senses  of 
the  luckless  victim,  and  robbery  or  even  worse 
violence,  too  often  ends  in  the  adventure.  These 
women  have  gone  so  far  down  into  the  depth  of 
sin,  that  they  scruple  at  nothing  which  will  bring 
them  money. 

The  throng  fills  the  street  until  a  late  hour  of 
the  night,  then  the  theatres  pour  out  their  audi- 
ences to  join  in,  and  for  an  hour  or  more  the  res- 


CHICAGO 

tauranta  and  cafes  are  filled  to  their  utmost  ca- 
pacity ;  then  as  midnight  comes  on,  the  street  be- 
comes quieter  and  more  deserted.  The  lights  in 
the  buildings  are  extinguished,  and  gradually  up- 
per State  Street  becomes  silent  and  deserted- 
Chicago  has  gone  to  bed. 


82 


Chicago  Society 

Good  and  Bad. 

Society  in  Chicago  is  made  up  of  many  parts, 
a  few  of  which  we  propose  to  examine. 

The  first  class  is  unfortunately  smallest,  and 
consists  of  those  who  set  culture  and  personal 
refinement  above  riches.  It  is  made  up  of  pro- 
fessional men  and  their  families,  lawyers,  clergy- 
men, artists,  authors,  physicians,  scientific  men 
and  others  of  kindred  pursuits  and  tastes.  Com- 
pared with  the  other  classes,  it  is  not  wealthy, 
though  many  of  its  members  manage  to  attain 
competency  and  ease.  Their  homes  are  tasteful 
and  often  elegant,  and  the  household  graces  are 
cultivated  in  preference  to  display,  the  tone  of 
this  class  is  pure,  healthy  and  vigorous,  and  per- 
sonal merit  is  the  surest  passport  to  it.  It  fur- 
nishes the  best  types  of  manhood  and  woman- 
hood to  be  met  with  in  the  metropolis  and  its 
homelif  e  is  simple  and  attractive.  In  short,  it  may 


23 


CHICAGO 

be  said  to  be  the  saving  element  of  society  in  the 
city,  and  fortunately  it  is  a  growing  element, 
drawing  to  it  every  year  new  members,  not  only 
from  the  city  itself,  but  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  It  is  this  class  which  gives  tone  to  the 
moral  and  religious  life  of  the  city.  Its  members 
are  generally  sufficiently  well-off  in  this  world's 
goods  to  render  them  independent  of  the  forms 
to  which  others  are  slaves ;  they  are  always  ready 
to  recognize  and  lend  a  helping  hand  to  struggling 
merit,  but  sternly  discountenance  vulgarity  and 
imposture.  They  furnish  the  men  and  women  who 
do  the  best  work  and  accomplish  the  greatest 
results  in  social  and  business  life  and  their  names 
are  honored  throughout  the  city. 

The  second  class  consists  of  those  who  have  in- 
herited large  wealth  for  one  or  more  generations 
of  ancestors.  They  are  generally  people  of  cul- 
ture, nothing  of  shoddyism  or  snobbery  about 
them.  Their  houses  are  filled  with  valuable  works 
of  art  and  mementoes.  Having  an  abundance  of 
leisure  they  are  free  to  cultivate  the  graces  of 
life,  and  they  constitute  one  of  the  pleasantest 
patrons  of  society  in  the  city.  The  class  is  not 
large,  but  it  is  constantly  receiving  new  members 

9A 


OHICAOO 

in  the  children  of  men  who  have  made  their  way 
in  the  world,  and  have  learned  to  value  money  at 
its  true  worth.  They  make  good  citizens,  with  the 
exception  of  an  easy  going  indifference  to  politi- 
cal affairs,  are  proud  of  their  city  and  country, 
and  do  not  ape  the  airs  or  costumes  of  foreign 
lands. 

The  third  largest  class,  that  which  may  be 
said  to  give  Chicago 's  fashionable  society  its  pecu- 
liar tone,  consists  of  the  "newly  rich."  These 
are  so  numerous,  and  make  themselves  so  con- 
spicuous, that  they  are  naturally  regarded  as  the 
representative  class  of  Chicago  society.  They 
may  be  known  by  their  coarse  appearances,  and 
still  coarser  manners,  their  loud  style  and  osten- 
tatious display  of  wealth.  Money  with  them  is 
everything,  and  they  judge  men,  not  by  their 
merits,  but  by  their  bank  account.  They  are 
strangers  to  the  refinements  and  small,  sweet  cour- 
tesies of  life,  and  for  them  substitute  a  hauteur 
and  a  dash  that  lay  them  open  to  unmerciful  ridi- 
cule. Som^  of  them  are  without  education  or 
polish,  and  ?ook  down  upon  those  who  are  less 
fortunate  than  themselves,  and  fawn  with  cring- 
ing servility  upon  the  more  aristocratic  portion  of 


CHICAGO 

society.  To  be  invited  to  an  entertainment  of 
some  family  of  solid  repute  in  the  fashionable 
world,  to  be  on  visiting  terms  with  those  whose 
wealth  and  culture  rank  them  as  the  true  aristoc- 
racy, is  the  height  of  their  ambition.  This  they 
generally  accomplish,  for  money  is  a  passport  to 
all  classes  of  Chicago  society.  The  better  elements 
may  laugh  at  the  "newly  rich,"  but  they  invite 
them  to  their  houses,  entertain  them,  are  enter- 
tained in  return,  and  so  do  their  share  in  keeping 
the  "newly  rich"  firm  in  its  position  on  the 
Avenues  and  Lake  Shore  Drive. 

The  "newly  rich"  look  down  with  supreme  con- 
tempt upon  the  institutions  which  have  enabled 
them  to  rise  so  high  in  the  social  scale.  It  is  from 
them  one  hears  so  many  complaints  of  the  degen- 
eracy of  society,  and  it  is  the  frown  from  them 
that  chills  the  ambitious  hopes  of  rising  merit; 
lacking  personal  dignity  themselves,  they  ridicule 
it  in  others. 

Some  strange  changes  of  names  are  brought 
about  by  a  translation  to  the  upper  circles.  Plain 
John  Smith  becomes  John  Smythe,  and  perhaps 
Smyythe.  Sam  Long,  who  began  life  by  driving 
a  dray,  is  now  Mr.  Samuel  Longue.    A  coat  of 


26 


CHICAGO 

arms  suddenly  makes  its  anpearace,  for  the  estab- 
lishment in  the  city  which  deals  in  such  matters 
is  equal  to  any  emergency,  and  often  a  pedigree 
is  manufactured  in  the  same  way. 

A  mansion  on  Lake  Shore  Drive  or  in  any  of  the 
more  pretentious  avenues,  newly  acquired  wealth 
is  liberally  expended  in  fitting  up  the  new  house ; 
and  then  the  fortunate  owners  of  it  suddenly  burst 
upon  society  as  stars  of  first  magnitude.  They  are 
ill-adapted  to  their  new  position,  it  is  true,  rude 
and  unrefined,  but  they  have  wealth  and  are  will- 
ing to  spend  it,  and  money  is  supposed  to  carry 
with  it  all  the  virtues  and  graces  of  fashionable 
life.  This  is  all  society  requires,  and  it  receives 
them  with  open  arms,  flatters  and  courts  them, 
and  exalts  them  to  the  seventh  heaven  of  fashion- 
able bliss. 

Lucky  are  they  who  can  manage  to  retain  the 
positions  thus  acquired.  It  too  often  happens  that 
this  suddenly  gotten  wealth  goes  as  rapidly  as  it 
came.  Then  the  star  begins  to  pale  and  finally 
the  family  drops  out  of  the  fashionable  world.  It 
is  not  missed,  however;  new  stars  take  their 
places,  perhaps  to  share  the  same  fate,  thus  this 
class  of  society  is  not  permanent  as  regards  its 


27 


CHICAGO 

members.  It  is  constantly  changing.  People  come 
and  go,  and  the  leaders  of  one  season  may  be  con- 
spicuous the  next  only  by  their  absence. 

Sometimes  even  this  class  of  society  takes  a 
notion  to  be  exclusive,  and  then  it  is  hard  to  ent&t 
the  charmed  circle. 

Some  years  ago,  a  gentleman,  a  man  of  brains 
and  sterling  merit,  who  had  risen  slowly  to  fortune 
feeling  himself  in  every  way  fitted  for  social  dis- 
tinction, resolved  to  enter  society,  and  to  signalize 
his  entree  by  a  grand  entertainment.  At  that 
time  he  lived  in  a  not  very  fashionable  street,  but 
he  did  not  regard  this  as  a  drawback.  He  issued 
his  invitations  and  prepared  his  entertainment 
upon  a  scale  of  unusual  magnificence,  and  at  the 
appointed  time  his  mansion  was  ablaze  with  light, 
and  ready  for  the  guests.  Great  was  his  mortifi- 
cation, not  one  of  those  invited  set  foot  within 
his  doors.  In  his  anger  he  swore  a  mighty  oath 
that  he  would  yet  compel  Chicago  society  to  hum- 
ble itself  to  him.  He  kept  his  word,  became  one 
of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  city,  indeed  one  of 
the  merchant  princes  of  the  land,  and  in  the 
course  of  8  few  years,  society,  which  had  scorned 
bis  first  invitations,  was  begging  for  admission  to 


28 


CHICAGO 

hu  sumptuous  fetes.  He  became  a  leader  of  so- 
ciety, and  his  mandates  were  humbly  obeyed  by 
those  who  had  presumed  to  look  down  upon  him. 
It  was  a  characteristic  triumph;  his  millions  did 
the  work. 

Poverty  is  always  a  misfortune.  Chicago  brands 
it  as  a  crime ;  consequently  no  poor  man,  or  even 
one  of  moderate  means,  can  hold  a  place  in  Chi- 
cago society.  Indeed  it  would  be  impossible  for 
any  one  not  possessed  of  great  wealth  to  maintain 
a  position  in  what  is  termed  "high-toned"  society 
here.  To  do  this  it  requires  an  almost  fabulous 
outlay  of  money.  As  money  opens  the  doors  of 
the  charmed  circle,  so  money  must  keep  one  with- 
in it.  Thus  Chicago  (as  in  most  large  cities)  has 
become  the  most  extravagant  in  the  world.  In 
few  cities  on  the  globe  are  such  immense  sums 
spent. 

Extravagance  is  the  besetting  sin  of  metropoli- 
tan social  life.  Immense  sums  are  expended  an- 
nually in  furnishing  the  aristocratic  mansions,  in 
dress,  in  entertainments,  and  all  sorts  of  folly 
and  dissipation.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a 
house  and  its  contents  to  be  heavily  mortgaged 
to  provide  the  means  of  keeping  its  occupants  in 


29 


CHICAGO 

proper  style.  The  pawnbrokers  drive  a  thriving 
trade  with  the  ladies  of  position  who  pledge 
jewels,  costly  dresses,  and  other  articles  of  femin- 
ine luxury,  to  raise  the  money  for  some  functional 
folly.  Each  member  of  society  strives  to  outshine 
or  outdress,  his  or  her  acquaintances,  and  to  do  so 
requires  a  continual  struggle  and  a  continual 
drain  upon  the  bank  account.  Men  have  been  led 
to  madness  and  even  suicide  and  women  to  sin  and 
shame,  by  this  constant  race  for  social  distinction, 
but  the  mad  round  of  extravagances  and  folly 
goes  on  and  on,  the  new  comers  failing  to  profit 
by  the  sad  experiences  of  those  who  have  gone 
before  them. 

The  love  of  dress  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Chi- 
cago woman  of  fashion.  To  be  the  best  dressed 
woman  at  a  ball,  the  opera,  a  dinner,  or  on  the 
street,  is  the  height  of  her  ambition.  To  outshine 
all  other  women  in  the  splendor  of  her  attire  oP 
her  jewels,  is  to  render  her  supremely  happy. 
Dresses  are  ordered  without  regard  to  cost,  and 
other  articles  of  luxury  are  purchased  in  propor- 
tion. 

Now  this  is  well  enough  for  those  who  can  af- 
ford it,  but  the  majority  of  the  Chicago  fafihioof- 


10 


CHICAGO 

ables  cannot  stand  the  strain  long.  As  we  have 
said,  their  great  wealth  melts  steadily  under  such 
demands  upon  it,  until  there  is  nothing  left  but 
bankruptcy  and  ruin  and  of  the  eternal  grind. 
From  time  to  time  the  business  community  is 
startled  by  the  failure,  perhaps  the  suicide  of 
some  normally  well-to-do  merchant  or  banker. 
The  affair  creates  a  brief  sensation  and  is  soon  for- 
gotten. The  cause  is  well  known,  "living  beyond 
his  means,"  or  "ruined  by  his  family's  extrava- 
gance." Men  suffer  the  tortures  of  the  damned 
in  their  efforts  to  maintain  their  commercial  stand- 
ing, and  at  the  same  time  to  provide  their  families 
with  the  means  of  keeping  their  place  in  society. 
They  are  driven  to  forgery,  defalcation,  and  other 
crimes,  yet  they  do  not  achieve  their  object.  Ruin 
lays  its  heavy  hand  upon  them  and  the  game  is 
played  out. 

As  for  Madame,  she  must  have  money.  The 
husband  may  not  be  able  to  furnish  it,  and  there 
may  be  a  limit  even  to  the  pawnbroker's  generos- 
ity; but  money  she  must  have.  Fashionable  life 
affords  her  the  means.  She  sells  her  honor  for 
filthy  lucre;  she  finds  a  lover  with  a  free  purse, 
and  willing  to  pay  for  the  favors.    She  acts  with 


31 


OfllCAGO 

her  eyes  open,  and  sins  deliberately,  and  from  the 
basest  of  motives.  She  wants  money  and  she  getg 
it.  Sometimes  the  intrigue  runs  on  without  de- 
tection and  Madame  shifts  from  lover  to  lover, 
according  to  her  needs.  Again  there  is  an  un- 
expected discovery;  an  explosion  follows. 
Madame 's  fine  reputation  goes  to  the  winds,  and 
there  is  a  gap  in  society. 

No  wonder  so  many  fashionable  women  look 
jaded,  have  an  anxious,  half-startled  expression, 
and  seem  weary.  They  are  living  in  a  state  of 
dread  lest  their  secrets  be  discovered  and  the  in- 
evitable ruin  overtake  them. 

Some  strange  things  happen  at  these  fashion- 
able gatherings.  Let  your  memories  run  back  to 
the  early  eighties  and  you  will  recall  an  incident 
of  a  robbery  in  the  very  midst  of  festivities.  In 
most  instances  the  articles  taken  are  of  value 
that  can  be  easily  secreted,  the  criminal  as  a  rule, 
is  no  vulgar  thief,  but  is  one  of  society's  privi- 
leged and  envied  members.  The  papers  of  that 
date  recorded  the  following : 

**In  the  dingy  back  room  of  a  renowned  detec- 
tive was  the  scene  of  an  impressive  spectacle  sev- 
eral weeks  ago.    In  the  presence  of  the  gentlemen, 


32 


CHIOAGO 

one  a  well  known  detective,  the  other  a  promi- 
nent merchant — knelt  a  fashionably  dressed  man 
of  middle  age,  confessing  a  shameful  story  of 
crime,  and  imploring  mercy. 

"I  admit  all,"  he  cried.  "I  stole  the  property, 
but  I  cannot  restore  it,  I  was  driven  to  the  deed 
in  order  to  maintain  my  position  in  society.  My 
means  had  largely  left  me,  and  I  could  not  resist 
temptation, ' ' 

"This  statement  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon 
the  merchant,  who  had  known  the  speaker  long 
and  favorably.  To  the  detective,  however,  it  was 
not  at  all  unexpected,  as  he  had  already  satisfied 
himself  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  man.  The  stealing 
which  was  here  confessed  was  one  of  those  crimes 
in  higher  circles  of  society.'* 

Only  a  decade  has  elapsed  since  the  family  of 
a  well-known  lawyer  living  on  a  prominent  Ave- 
nue, gave  a  social  entertainment  to  which  per- 
sons of  high  standing  in  society  were  invited. 
The  following  morning  it  was  discovered  that 
rings,  watches  and  jewelry  worth  several  hundred 
dollars  was  missing.  The  most  careful  search  and 
close  examination  of  servants  forced  the  conclu- 
sion npon  the  family  that  the  robbery  had  been 


5j;'i 


CHICAGO 

committed  by  some  one  of  the  guests,  although 
this  seemed  incredible,  as  every  name  upon  the 
list  of  those  present  seemed  to  forbid  the  thought 
of  suspicion.  The  affair  was  put  into  the  hands  of 
private  detectives,  who  were  unable,  however,  to 
obtain  the  slightest  clew  to  the  thief  of  the  prop- 
erty. 

Yet  it  is  not  the  professional  thieves  that  those 
who  get  up  fashionable  entertainments  chiefly 
fear.  The  most  dangerous  class,  because  the  most 
numerous,  are  included  among  the  invited  guests 
and  are  called,  when  detected,  kleptomaniacs. 


U 


The 

White  Slave  Traffic 

The  revelations  made  by  investigators  should  be 
given  as  wide  a  currency  as  possible.  The  extent 
of  the  White  Slave  traffic  and  the  machinery  by 
which  it  is  maintained,  should  be  brought  home, 
not  only  to  the  officials  sworn  to  deal  with  crime, 
but  to  parents  sworn  under  higher  law  to  guard 
their  young. 

Thousands  of  girls  from  the  country  are  en- 
trapped each  year,  and  the  pitiful  fact  is  that  the 
parents  of  a  large  majority  of  these  unfortunates 
are  unaware  of  their  fate.  As  a  consequence  of 
this  state  of  public  ignorance,  the  traffic  proceeds 
unchecked,  save  by  the  efforts  of  persons  willing 
to  give  time  and  money  for  the  procuring  of  evi- 
dence and  prosecuting  the  offenders. 

What  is  greatly  needed  as  a  supplement  to  vig- 
orous prosecution  of  offenders  is  a  campaign  of 
education.  Writers,  clergymen  and  officials  should 


36 


CHICAGO 

take  up  this  appalling  evil  and  instruct  parents  as 
to  the  reality  and  extent  of  the  danger.  In  small 
towns  there  is  virtually  no  knowledge  of  this  ter- 
ribly increasing  traffic  of  buying  and  selling  and 
securing  girls  for  houses  of  prostitution. 

The  problem  is  enormous,  but  by  educational 
means  it  can  be  largely  solved.  The  responsibil- 
ity for  a  broad  and  systematic  campaign  of  en- 
lightenment rests  chiefly  with  the  parents,  who 
should  become  enlightened  upon  the  subject  by 
reading  and  inquiry,  and  then  instruct  their  chil- 
dren upon  the  educational  lines  to  the  end  that 
they  may  know  the  sad  realities  and  gravity  of 
the  evil  and  its  conditions. 

The  vampires  who  deal  in  human  bodies  must 
and  will  be  punished.  These  wretches,  who,  for 
a  few  dollars,  will  dig  so  low  down  in  the  quag- 
mire of  rottenness  must  be  sent  to  prison.  If 
fathers  and  mothers  could  be  brught  to  a  realiza- 
tion that  thousands  of  young  and  tender  girls 
are  being  sold  to  vultures  for  immoral  purposes, 
they  would  raise  a  wave  of  indignation  that 
would  sweep  around  the  world. 

It  is  notable,  and  a  commendable  fact  that  the 
government,  through  its  agents  and  courts,  is  ac- 


36 


CHICAGO 

complishing  results  that  will,  it  is  hoped,  forever 
crush  this  awful  business,  and  drive  the  keepers 
of  these  cess-pools  of  vice  and  shame  into  the  sea 
of  everlasting  ignomy. 

The  sole  aim  in  writing  upon  the  White  Slave 
subject  is  to  definitely  call  the  attention  of  the 
men  and  women  of  the  United  States,  and  espe- 
cially those  of  the  larger  cities,  to  the  vicious,  and 
thoroughly  organized  white  slave  traffic  of  today, 
and  its  attendant,  far-reaching,  horrible  results 
upon  the  young  man  and  womanhood  of  our  land. 
During  a  constant  investigation,  covering  several 
years'  time  in  the  central  slum  districts  of  Chi- 
cago, I  have  gained  much  actual  knowledge  of  the 
questions  of  poverty,  drink  and  prostitution 
among  the  lost  men  and  women  of  this  great  city. 
Have  become  personally  acquainted  with  very 
many  of  them,  visiting  them,  listening  to  their 
heart  stories  and  growing  to  know  much  of  their 
inside  lives  and  have  learned  a  real  tender  inter- 
est and  pity  for  them  in  their  remorseful,  help- 
less, hopeless  conditoin.  Statistical  references 
have  been  taken  from  the  writings  of  United 
States  District  Attorney  Sims,  Ernest  A.  Bell, 
Judge  John  R.  Newcomer,  Clifford  G.  Roe  and 


37 


OHICAGO 

others  engaged  in  prosecuting  and  reform  work, 
all  of  whom  I  thank  earnestly  and  wish  well  in 
what  they  are  accomplishing  for  good  where  it  is 
80  desperately  needed  in  this  submerged  under- 
world of  our  city. 

After  these  years  of  experience,  and  after  hav- 
ing visited  in  various  capacities,  disguised,  etc., 
many  of  the  worst  haunts  of  vice  and  houses  of 
prostitution  in  Chicago,  I  personally  came  to  this 
conclusion :  There  is  small  chance  for  a  girl,  once 
having  been  sold  into  or  entered  upon  a  life  of 
prostitution,  to  ever  escape  therefrom.  Invariably 
she  is  kept  in  debt  to  her  masters,  excessive  bills 
for  parlor  clothes,  board,  dentistry,  laundry  and 
all  conceivable  expenses  are  kept  charged  up 
against  her.  She  is  under  constant  threat  of  per- 
sonal violence  and  blackmail  in  every  form  (her 
owners  securing,  whenever  possible,  some  knowl- 
edge of  her  home  and  friends  and  continually 
holding  this  knowledge  as  a  dagger  over  her), 
and  then  there  are  the  ever-present  whoremasters 
and  madams  with  drugs  and  drinks  and  bolts  and 
bars,  guarding  every  possible  avenue  of  escape 
with  blows  and  curses  and  brutality  beyond  con- 
ception.    Very  few  young  girls  enter  a  life  of 


38 


CHICAGO 

prostitution  voluntarily,  and  few,  once  entering, 
ever  escape. 

The  recent  examination  of  more  than  two  hun- 
dred "white  slaves"  by  the  office  of  the  United 
States  District  Attorney  of  Chicago  has  brought 
to  light  the  fact  that  literally  thousands  of  inno- 
cent girls  from  the  country  districts  are  every 
year  entrapped  into  a  life  of  hopeless  slavery  and 
degredation  because  parents  in  the  country  do 
not  understand  conditions  as  they  exist  and  how 
to  protect  their  daughters  from  the  "white  slave'* 
traders  who  have  reduced  the  art  of  ruining  young 
girls  to  a  national  and  international  system.  I 
sincerely  believe  that  nine-tenths  of  the  parents 
of  these  thousands  of  girls  who  are  every  year 
snatched  from  lives  of  decency  and  comparative 
peace  and  dragged  under  the  slime  of  an  existence 
in  the  "white  slave"  world  have  no  idea  that 
there  is  really  a  trade  in  the  ruin  of  girls  as  much 
as  there  is  trade  in  cattle  or  sheep  or  the  other 
products  of  the  farm.  If  these  parents  had  known 
the  real  conditions,  had  believed  that  there  is 
actually  a  syndicate  which  does  as  regular,  as 
steady  and  persistent  a  "business"  in  the  ruina- 
tion of  girls  as  the  great  packing  houses  do  in  the 


39 


CHICAGO 

Bale  of  meats,  it  is  wholly  probable  that  their 
daughters  would  not  now  be  in  dens  of  vice  and 
almost  utterly  without  hope  of  release  excepting 
by  the  hand  of  death. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  the  legal  evi- 
dence thus  far  collected  establishes  with  complete 
moral  certainty  these  awful  facts :  That  the  white 
slave  traffic  is  a  system — a  syndicate  which  has  its 
ramifications  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  the 
Pacific  ocean,  with  "clearing  houses'*  or  "dis- 
tributing centers"  in  nearly  all  the  larger  cities; 
that  in  this  ghastly  traffic  the  buying  price  of  a 
young  girl  is  $15.00  and  that  the  selling  price  is 
generally  about  $200.00 — if  the  girl  is  especially 
attractive,  the  white  slave  dealer  may  be  able  to 
sell  her  for  $400.00  or  $600.00 ;  that  this  syndicate 
did  not  make  less  than  $200,000  last  year  in  this 
almost  unthinkable  commerce ;  that  it  is  a  definite 
organization  sending  its  hunters  regularly  to  scour 
France,  Germany,  Hungary,  Italy  and  Canada  for 
victims ;  that  the  man  at  the  head  of  this  unthink- 
able enterprise  is  known  among  his  hunters  as 
"The  Big  Chief." 

"Judge  John  R.  Newcomer  of  Chicago,  said 


4f 


CHICAGO 

before  the  National  Purity  Congress  at  Battle 
Creek,  Michigan: 

"Within  one  week  I  had  seven  different  letters 
from  fathers,  from  Madison,  Wisconsin,  on  the 
north,  to  Peoria,  Illinois,  on  the  south,  asking  me 
in  God's  name  to  do  something  to  help  them  find 
their  daughters,  because  they  had  come  to  Chicago 
and  they  had  never  heard  from  them  afterward. 

"If  you  mean  by  the  'white  slave'  traffic  the 
placing  of  young  girls  in  a  brothel  for  a  price,  it 
is  undoubtedly  a  real  fact,  based  upon  statements 
that  have  been  made  in  my  court  during  the  past 
three  months  by  defendants,  both  men  and  wom- 
en, who  have  pleaded  guilty  to  that  crime,  and  in 
a  sense  it  is  both  interstate  and  international. 

"Not  one,  but  many  shipments,  of  which  I  have 
personal  knowledge,  based  upon  testimony  of  peo- 
ple who  have  pleaded  guilty,  many  shipments 
come  from  Paris  and  other  European  cities  to  New 
York ;  and  from  New  York  to  Chicago  and  other 
western  points;  and  from  Chicago  as  a  distribut- 
ing point  to  the  West  and  Southwest ;  and  on  the 
western  coast  coming  into  San  Francisco  and 
other  ports  there.  No,  it  is  a  real  fact ;  and  it  is 
something  that  we  have  got  to  take  notice  of,  and 


41 


CHICAGO 

something  that,  while  it  may  have  been  developed 
largely  during  the  past  ten  years,  the  national 
government  itself  has  recently  taken  notice  of  its 
existence." 

Mr.  Clifford  G.  Roe,  formerly  Assistant  State's 
Attorney,  who  has  prosecuted  very  many  cases 
against  the  traffickers  in  women,  said  before  the 
nnion  meeting  of  ministers  called  to  consider  the 
white  slave  traffic,  at  the  auditorium  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  February  10,  1908: 

**A  great  many  persons  are  yet  skeptical  of 
the  existence  of  an  organized  traffic  in  girls.  They 
seem  to  think  that  those  advocating  the  abolition 
of  this  trade  are  either  fanatics  or  notoriety  seek- 
ers. They  doubt  the  truth  of  the  impossibility  of 
escape  and  content  themselves  with  the  thought 
that  girls  use  the  plea  of  slavery  to  right  them- 
selves with  their  parents  and  friends  when  their 
cases  are  made  public. 

"However,  if  these  same  people  could  have 
been  in  the  courts  of  Chicago  during  the  past  year 
their  minds  would  be  disabused  of  the  idea  that 
slavery  does  not  exist  in  Chicago. 

"The  startling  disclosures  made  in  nearly  a 
hundred  cases  ought  to  arouse  not  only  the  oiti- 


42 


CHICAGO 

jsens  of  Chicago,  but  the  whole  country  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  indignation." 

Chicago's  Soul  Market. 

"O,  he  keeps  a  bunch  of  'fillies*  in  the  shanty 
down  near  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Peoria 
streets,  and  they're  not  foreigners,  either.  They're 
your  nice  American  girls.  No  wonder  he  can  make 
a  bet  like  that  on  a  mere  chance,  from  a  roll  of 
yellow-backs."  The  speaker  was  a  madam  of  a 
Peoria  street  resort,  the  listeners  a  motley  crowd 
of  women  gathered  in  the  rear  room  of  a  popular 
saloon  and  gambling  house  not  far  from  the  cor- 
ner of  Green  and  Madison  streets  on  the  seething, 
congested  west  side  of  Chicago.  These  women 
assembled  in  that  screened  back  room  to  risk  their 
hard-earned  or  evil-gotten  money  on  the  horses  of 
the  Louisville  race  track. 

There  sat  the  little  eighteen-year-old,  brown- 
eyed  milliner,  her  dissipated  face  hollow  and 
drawn  from  worry  and  lack  of  sleep  and  an  insuf- 
ficient quantity  of  nourishing  food,  while  near  her 
a  white-haired  old  woman  in  shabby  black  was 
tightly  grasping  two  quarters,  her  entire  worldly 


43 


CHICAGO 

possession.  Just  across  sat  a  well-dressed  woman 
restaurant  keeper,  a  young  Eastern  Star,  and  half 
a  hundred  others,  above  all  of  whom  shone  the 
yellow-haired  madam  of  the  Peoria  street  resort, 
the  star  patron  of  that  great  gambling  room  for 
women,  each  one  of  whom  was  eagerly  beckoning 
the  well-groomed  bookmaker,  feverishly  anxious 
to  get  her  pittance  on  the  race  track  favorite, 
when  a  connecting  door  was  pushed  suddenly 
open  and  in  rushed  a  fashionably-dressed,  brutal- 
faced  young  Russian  Jew,  holding  loosely  an  im- 
mense roll  of  money.  Tens,  twenties,  hundreds — 
he  came  with  them  until  three  hundred  dollars 
had  been  placed  to  win  upon  a  "docker's  tip"  in 
that  day'n  last  race  in  Louisville. 

There  wps  a  grim,  deadly  silence,  eating,  un- 
bearable Gilence  in  that  cfambling  room  as  they 
waited  tLo  ring  of  the  telephone  and  the  name  of 
the  winner.  Again  the  yellow-haired  madam's 
voice  screamed  shrilly  out,  for  she  was  indeed  ill 
at  ease,  her  money  was  on  the  favorite — "Yes,  a 
bunch  of  American  'fillies'  peddled  out  at  fifty 
cents  an  hour  to  all  comers,  black  and  white,  sick 
or  sound.  No  wonder  he  can  make  a  play  like 
that  on  an  outside  chance." 


U 


CHICAGO 

Three  hundred  dollars!  My  heart  stood  still 
almost.  The  thought  flashed  through  my  brain 
that  that  wager  meant  hundreds  of  hours  of  shame 
and  slavery  and  horror  to  those  girls  in  the  shan- 
ties down  on  Peoria  Street,  some  mother's  girl, 
every  one  of  them.  I  sat  still  for  a  little  while 
and  watched  the  fevered,  anxious  throng  about 
me.  My  heart  kept  going  faster  and  faster  until 
I  could  bear  it  no  longer.  American  "fillies"  and 
body  and  soul  under  a  brutal  Russian  Jewish 
whoremonger!  I  slipped  quietly  out  into  the 
street;  night  was  coming  on  as  I  walked  down 
Madison  street  and  south  on  Peoria.  Yes,  there 
were  the  shanties — poor,  wretched  hovels,  every 
one  of  them.  Out  shone  the  flickering  red  lights, 
out  came  the  discordant,  rasping  sound  of  the 
rented  piano,  out  belched  the  shrieks  of  drunken 
harlots,  mingled  with  the  groans  and  curses  of 
task-masters  in  a  foreign  tongue,  attracting  the 
attention  of  the  hundreds  of  laborers,  negroes  and 
boys,  as  they  walked  home  on  Peoria  street  from 
their  day's  work.  On  I  went  until  I  came  to  the 
little  shed  just  north  of  the  slum  saloon  occupied 

by  one  S ,  and  checking  my  steps  I  looked 

around  me  on  the  squalid,  wretched  scene.    I  was 


45 


CHICAGO 

in  the  midst  of  prostitution  at  its  lowest — ^the 
heart-breaking  dregs  of  Chicago's  twenty-two 
thousand  public  women.  Yes,  there  they  were — 
the  fair  young  American  girl,  the  stolid  Russian 
Jewess,  the  middle-aged,  syphilitic  harlot,  living, 
prostituting,  dying,  like  so  many  hurt,  broken 
moths  around  that  great  Red  Light — Chicago's 
west  side  soul  market — their  poor,  wretched 
bodies,  sold  day  and  night  at  from  twenty-five  to 
fifty  cents  an  hour  to  all  comers  who  could  pay 
the  pitiful  price  demanded  by  their  brutal,  soul- 
less masters;  and  as  I  looked  the  burning  fire  of 
intense  pity  entered  my  soul  for  these  drug  and 
drink-sodden,  diseased,  chained  slaves — my  sisters 
in  Christ  in  this  great  free  American  Republic — 
and  so  with  a  heart  full  of  consuming  desire  to 
know  more  of  the  real  lives  of  these  scarlet  women 
and  to  help  them,  if  possible,  I  began  at  once  a 
thorough  personal  investigation  of  Chicago's 
public  slave  market,  visiting  these  people  in  vari- 
ous capacities  whenever  occasion  offered;  talking 
with  them,  gaining  their  much-abused  confidence 
until  I  gradually  learned  the  inside  lines  of  the 
saddest  story  America  has  ever  known  since  the 
black  mothers  of  our  Southland  were  torn  from 


46 


CHICAGO 

fheir  black  and  white  babies  and  with  shrieks  of 
agony  and  heartstrings  bleeding  and  souls  rent 
with  blackened  horroi-  were  sold  to  death  on  the 
plantations  of  Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  and  I 
want  to  tell  you  who  read  this  and  who  think 
there  is  little  truth  in  the  now  much  agitated 
question  of  white  slavery  in  America,  that  in  the 
dives  and  dens  of  our  city's  underworld  I  have 
heard  shrieks  and  heart  cries  and  groans  of  agony 
and  remorse  that  have  never  been  surpassed  at 
any  public  slave  auction  America  has  ever  wit- 
nessed, as  these  girls,  many  of  them,  oh !  so  young, 
realizing  their  awful  fate  with  scalding  tears  and 
moans  of  horror,  shut  out  from  their  hearts  and 
lives  father  or  mother,  or  husband  and  child  and 
turned  their  sob-shaken,  tortured  bodies  to  face 
the  months  or  years  of  final,  relentless  wretched- 
ness and  woe,  to  be  at  last  thrown  out  sick  and 
broken  to  die  in  some  alley  or  be  carted  off  to 
Dunning  poorhouse  to  gradual  physical  decay  and 
a  pauper's  burial,  and  grave  and  obliteration, 
while  those  who  sold  them  just  a  few  years  before 
go  out  in  their  diamonds  and  fine  linen  and  their 
great  automobiles  to  buy  up  more  girls  (it  might 
be  your  daughter — father,  mother — or  it  might  be 


47 


CHICAGO 

mine)  to  fill  up  the  vacancy  in  the  ranks  of  this 
vast  army  of  white  slaves.  A  woman  said  to  me 
the  other  day,  and  it  was  a  lofty,  sneering  tone, 
too :  **I  doubt  if  these  women  are  ever  coerced  or 
even  imposed  upon.**  Listen!  read,  then  listen! 
Sitting  in  my  ofi&ce  one  afternoon,  I  listened,  my 
blood  almost  freezing,  to  the  following  story, 
vouched  for  by  Mr.  C ,  an  immigration  inspec- 
tor and  brother  of  a  well-known  Chicago  reform- 
worker,  and  here  it  is  as  he  told  it  to  me:  "One 
evening  some  time  ago  I  was  looking  up  a  case 
down  in  the  Twenty-second  street  red-light  dis- 
trict, and  visited  and  inspected,  looking  for  immi- 
grant girls  held  illegally  at  a  certain  house  of  the 
lower  class  in  that  neighborhood  of  prostitution. 
While  in  the  house  I  noticed  a  young  woman  lying 
very  ill  (in  the  last  stages  of  consumption,  if  I 
remember  the  story  exactly)  and  in  a  semi-con- 
scious condition,  and  to  my  horror  upon  inquiry  I 
learned  that  in  the  rush  hours  of  business  this 
helpless,  painracked  young  woman  was  open  to  all 
comers  holding  an  accredited  room  check."  My 
friends,  there  are  true  stories  heard  and  known 
every  day  around  the  city's  seething,  blood-red 
soul  market  that  cannot  be  put  in  print — stories 


4B 


CHICAGO 

though,  that,  were  they  to  become  known,  would 
make  decent  Cnicago  rise  as  one  man  and  cry 
with  a  voice  outspeaking  Fort  Sumpter,  "White 
Slavery  in  Chicago  and  America  must  cease!** 

During  my  years  of  study  of  this  question  of 
prostitution  I  learned  to  know  personally  many  of 
the  characteristic  white  slaves  of  the  west  and 
south  side  "levees.**  One  "Alice**  I  shall  never, 
never  forget.  Beautiful,  aside  from  her  dissipa- 
tion, a  high-school  graduate,  grammar  and  syntax 
perfect,  manner  exquisite,  "Alice,**  seduced  at 
eighten,  was  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  away  down 
the  line  in  the  west  side  levee  underworld.  I  used 
to  talk  many  times  with  Alice  as  she  sat  in  the 
back  parlor  of  the  "house**  on  Peoria  street  that 
gave  her  shelter,  awaiting  her  call  of  "next**  to 
go  "upstairs**  with  whatsoever — negro,  white  or 
Chinese — might  buy  possession  for  one  dollar  (one 
of  our  dollars  of  the  Republic  on  which  is  eter- 
nally stamped  the  blessed  words,  "In  God  we 
trust'*)  of  her  beautiful  body  for  one  hour.  Smok- 
ing, always  smoking  her  doped  Turkish  cigarette, 
Alice  told  me  much  of  her  life,  both  in  years  gone 
forever  and  of  a  daily  "levee"  existence.  She 
told  me  of  a  father  and  mother  and  a  beautiful 


49 


CHICAGO 

home,  of  a  lover  who  came  into  it  and  led  her 
away  by  night  into  *' levee"  slavery — of  awful 
disgrace  and  inheritance,  of  a  little  baby  that 
she  only  knew  one  hour,  of  hours  of  insane  re- 
morse and  anguish,  until  at  last  she  would  stand 
and  scream  and  scream  with  mental  pain  until 
some  whoremonger  knocked  her  senseless,  and 
then  she  told  me  how  she  would  crawl  away  to  a 
nearby  shanty  saloon  and  drink  herself  helpless, 
to  forget.  As  far  as  I  know,  Alice  is  still  on  Peo- 
ria street,  and  oh,  men  and  women,  there  are 
twenty-two  thousand  of  these  "Alices,"  your  sis- 
ters and  mine,  in  Chicago's  great  blasting  soul 
market  today.  United  States  Attorney  Sims  puts 
the  average  life  of  a  prostitute  at  ten  years  or  less, 
while  other  excellent  authorities  as  low  as  five 
years,  as  these  women  must  constantly  drink  any 
and  all  drinks  purchased  for  them  (as  much  of 
the  business  revenue  is  from  the  sale  of  these 
drinks)  by  visitors,  thus  forcing  them  at  all  times 
into  a  continuel  half-drunken  condition,  render- 
ing them  helpless  to  control  or  resist  the  abnor- 
mal, sickening,  mind  and  body-wrecking  demands 
made  upon  them.  Very  few  women  live  therein  an 
average  more  than  three,  four  or  six  years,  and  at 


50 


CHICAGO 

the  end  of  that  time  twenty-two  thousand  pure 
young  girls  gathered  from  prairie  homes  and  vil- 
lage firesides  and  from  our  own  suburban  and  city 
families  must  march  out  in  this  great  soul  market 
to  take  the  place  of  the  broken  wretches  whose 
decaying  bodies  are  cast  into  the  refuse  of  our 
alleys  and  sewers  to  become  the  menace  of  every 
girl  and  boy  and  drunken  man  who  comes  within 
their  clutches  or  sets  foot  within  their  alley  hovels. 

The  End  of  the  Way. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening, 
September  19th,  I  boarded  a  "West  Madison  street 
ear  and,  transferring  north  at  Halsted  street, 
alighted  at  Lake  and  walked  west  to  L 's  sa- 
loon. I  discovered  in  the  wine  and  back  rooms  of 
the  wretched  place  a  crowd  of  perhaps  fifty  drun- 
ken, dirty  men  and  women,  young  white  girls, 
huddled  in  with  the  worst  mob  of  negroes,  whites 
and  Chinese  I  have  seen  in  Chicago's  slums,  all 
cursing,  drinking,  singing  and  blaspheming  in 
plain  view  and  hearing  of  the  street.  I  stopped  a 
moment  to  make  sure  I  was  making  no  mistake  in 
what  I  saw  and  then  crossed  the  street  to  inter- 


51 


CHICAGO 

view  the  dark-eyed  little  foreigner  who  at  its  door 
was  boldly  soliciting  trade  for  the  saloon  and  its 
adjacent  evils  just  opposite.  I  walked  down  to 
Peoria  and  south  on  that  notorious  street.  In  the 
row  of  houses  running  from  Lake  to  Randolph 
street  there  are  approximately  300  white  slaves, 
and  diseased,  crippled  prostitutes  of  the  lowest 
class,  dumped  from  the  city's  cleaner  dives.  And 
on  that  night  it  was  almost  impossible  to  push 
one's  way  through  the  mass  of  men  and  boys — 
whites,  negroes,  Turks  and  Pollocks,  gathered  in 
front  of  these  public  abominations.  At  the  comer 
of  Randolph  and  Peoria  streets  several  earnest 
looking  men  and  women  were  holding  a  little  gos- 
pel street  meeting,  and  stopping  with  them,  I 
counted  during  the  thirty  minutes  I  stayed  there, 
six  hundred  and  forty  (approximately)  men  and 
boys  stop  in  front  of  or  enter  this  horrible  flesh 
market.  As  I  left  the  scene  a  young  girl  in  a 
drunken,  filthy  condition,  slipped  out  of  an  alley 
and  followed  me,  asking  me  to  help  her,  and  as 
we  sat  on  the  steps  of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul  Ca- 
thedral, corner  of  Washington  boulevard  and  Peo- 
ria street,  she  told  me  the  worst,  heart-breaking 
story  of  wrong  and  vice  and  ruin  I  have  ever  lis- 


68 


CHICAGO 

tened  to.  As  I  left  that  West  Side  levee  of  vice  I 
knew  I  had  seen  prostitution  at  its  lowest  ebb 
and  that  out  from  these  holes  of  horror  finally  went 
those  awful  alley  women  of  the  night  to  sell  their 
souls  to  any  young  boy  or  drunken  man  who 
could  give  them  a  few  cents  or  even  the  price  of  a 
drink  of  whiskey. 

This  girl  was  turned  over  to  the  Chicago  Rescue 
Mission,  cleaned  and  clothed  and  fed  and  pointed 
to  Jesus  Christ.  Her  story  was  investigated  and 
found  true  and  after  receiving  medical  attention 
she  was  quietly  returned  to  her  country  home. 

Mr.  J.  J.  Sloan,  when  he  was  superintendent 
of  the  John  Worthy  School  (which  is  the  local 
municipal  juvenile  reformatory),  reported  that 
one-third  of  the  street  boys  sent  to  him  were  suf- 
fering from  the  loathsome  diseases  and  distempers 
of  the  red-light  district,  nor  is  this  to  be  wondered 
at  when  we  consider  the  fact  that  sexual  com- 
merce may  be  purchased  almost  anywhere  in  the 
South  State  street  and  West  Side  alleys  for  the 
remarkably  low  price  of  ten  cents,  or  even  a  glass 
of  beer  or  whisky  from  the  gonorrheal  and  syphil- 
itic denizens  thrown  out  long  ago  from  the  better 
class  houses  of  prostitution  to  live  off  the  half 

59 


CHICAGO 

drunken  men  and  young  boys  to  be  found  in 
swarms  along  South  State,  Halsted  and  South 
Clark  streets.  Almost  invariably  the  street  boy 
hunting  these  underworld  sections  of  our  city  is 
first  led  into  sexual  sin  by  one  of  the  crippled, 
half  rotten,  yet  painted  vampires  of  the  street 
whose  only  care  or  hope  is  a  crust  of  free  lunch 
and  enough  '.vhicky  or  "dope"  to  drown  for  a 
time  r'.t  leact,  the  last  throb  of  heart  and  con- 
science anc.  keep  life  a  few  days  longer  within  her 
wretched  body,  and  the  boy,  having  purchased 
for  the  nmali  fee  his  own  destruction,  trails  out 
again  into  the  night  and  on  into  disease  and  crime 
and  prison,  and  finally  death. 

The  average  parent  of  today  has  little  idea  of 
the  temptations  which  constantly  surround  and 
beset  the  growing  boy.  I  recall  a  case  in  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  where  i.  little  degenerate  girl  of  six- 
teen, caused  the  moral,  and  in  several  cases  physi- 
cal, ruin  of  five  young  boys,  all  this  happcninr  in 
an  exclusive  east  side  neighborhood  and  under 
the  watchful  care  of  honest  parents  and  friends, 
so  what  must  be  the  temptation  thrown  out  to 
the  young  boys  of  our  city  when  through  block 
after  block  of  our  certain  districts  they  must 


M 


CHICAGO 

come  in  direct  contact  with  those  whose  only  mis- 
sion is  to  ruin  and  debauch.  It  should  be  the  di- 
rect object  morally  and  politically,  of  every  father 
and  mother  in  this  city  to  banish  these  human 
parasites — these  leeches  who  suck  the  life  blood 
of  our  boys — from  Chicago 's  streets. 

Listen,  father,  mother,  there  are  twenty-two 
thousand  poor,  dearly-beloved  young  girls  grow- 
ing up  in  our  midst  today  who  within  five  years 
must,  under  the  present  business  system  of  white 
slavery,  put  aside  father,  mother,  home,  friends 
and  honor  and  march  into  Chicago's  ghastly  flesh 
market  to  take  the  place  of  the  twenty-two  thous- 
and helpless,  hopeless,  decaying  chatties  who  now 
daily  behind  bolts  and  bars  and  steel  screens, 
satisfy  the  abominable  lust  of  (approximately) 
two  hundred  and  ten  thousand  brutal,  drunken 
adulterers. 

I  believe,  as  I  write,  that  the  final  solving  of 
this  reeking,  hideous  question  lies  in  the  moral  and 
Christian  teaching  and  protection  of  the  growing 
girls  of  our  land.  I  believe  in  a  rigidly  enforced 
law  that  keeps  girls  under  legal  age  and  unat- 
tended off  the  down-town  streets  at  night  after  a 
reasonable  hour.    Harry  Balding,  the  convicted 


55 


CHICAGO 

white  slaver,  in  his  confession  before  Judge  New- 
comer and  Assistant  State's  Attorney  Roe,  says: 
"We  would  be  sent  out  by  resort  keepers  to  work 
up  some  girls,  for  whom  we  were  paid  from  $10 
to  $50  each,  though  the  cash  bonus  was  much 
more.  The  majority  of  them  were  girls  we  met  on 
the  street.  We  would  go  around  to  the  penny 
arcades  and  nickle  theatres  and  when  we  saw  a 
couple  of  young  girls  we  would  go  up  and  talk 
with  them.  I  will  say  this  for  myself — I  never 
took  a  girl  away  from  her  home;  the  girls  I  took 
down  there  I  met  in  the  stores  or  on  the  streets." 
There  is  a  league  of  masonry  worldwide  that 
makes  it  possible  for  a  mason  anywhere  in  trouble 
or  distress,  to  raise  his  hand  toward  the  heavens 
with  a  certain  sign  and  if  there  be  a  brother 
mason  within  reach,  that  brother,  no  matter  of 
what  nationality,  kindred  or  tongue,  is  sworn  to 
give  him  all  needed  protection.  Listen,  father, 
mother,  sister,  listen  brother!  Today  from  be- 
neath Chicago's  awful  moral  sewerage  which  has 
sucked  their  hearts  and  souls  and  bodies  under,  a 
thousand  trembling  hands  are  held  up  to  high 
heaven,  and  to  you  for  help,  hands  reeking  with 
the  blood  on  which  some  whoremonger  has  fat- 


56 


CHICAGO 

tened;  the  hands  though  of  your  sisters  and  of 
mine,  and  I  believe  that  here  in  Chicago,  the 
greatest  market  for  white  slaves  on  the  continent, 
^ould  be  formed  a  league  that  would  become 
worldwide,  of  earnest,  law-abiding  men  and  wom- 
en whose  efforts  united  with  those  of  the  proper 
police,  municipal  and  Federal  authorities,  would 
make  it  practically  impossible  for  a  girl  to  be 
sold  into  or  compelled  to  lead  an  immoral  life, 
and  through  whose  influence  such  open  public 
flesh  markets  as  our  "red  light"  and  levee  dis- 
trict would  be  banished  forever  from  Chicago 
streets.  I  believe  in  helping,  God  knows,  with 
heart  and  hand  and  money,  every  fallen  woman 
in  our  land  whom  there  is  the  slightest  chance  to 
help  in  any  way,  but  I  believe  first  of  all  in  using 
every  known  measure  to  keep  our  girls  from  fall- 
ing.  You  and  I  live  beneath  the  only  flag  in  all 
the  world  that  has  never  known  defeat,  and  the 
very  basic  principle  upon  which  that  flag  is  build- 
ed  is  human  liberty  and  human  protection,  and  so 
by  personal  work,  by  song,  prayer  and  by  the 
power  of  the  cross  let  us  set  ourselves  to  help 
these  helpless  ones  in  our  midst  until  the  angels 
shall  take  up  the  story  of  shame  and  bitterness 


Mr 


CHICAGO 

and  wrong  and  bear  to  all  the  world  and  to 
heaven  itself  the  swift  acknowledgement  that  7011 
are  your  brother's  keeper. 


Smashing  The  Traffic 

There  are  some  things  so  far  removed  from  the 
lives  of  normal,  decent  people  as  to  be  simply  un- 
believable by  them.  The  "white  slave"  trade  of 
today  is  one  of  these  incredible  things.  The  calm- 
est, simplest  statements  of  its  facts  are  almost 
beyond  the  comprehension  or  belief  of  men  and 
women  who  are  mercifully  spared  from  contact 
with  the  dark  and  hideous  secrets  of  "the  under 
world"  of  the  big  cities. 

You  would  hardly  credit  the  statement,  for  ex- 
ample, that  things  are  being  done  every  day  in 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Chicago  and  other  large 
cities  of  this  country  in  the  white  slave  traffic 
which  would,  by  contrast,  make  the  Congo  slave 
traders  of  the  old  days  appear  like  Good  Sama- 
ritans. Yet  this  figure  is  almost  a  literal  truth. 
The  man  of  the  stone  age  who  clubbed  a  woman 
of  his  desire  into  insensibility  or  submission  was 
little  short  of  a  high-minded  gentleman  when  con- 
trasted with  the  men  who  fatten  upon  the  "white 


a$ 


GHICAGO 

slave"  traffic  in  this  day  of  social  settlements,  of 
forward  movements,  of  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Christian 
Endeavor  activities,  of  air  ships  and  wireless 
telegraphy. 

Naturally,  wisely,  every  parent  who  reads  this 
statement  will  at  once  raise  the  question :  '  *  What 
excuse  is  there  for  the  open  discussion  of  such  a 
revolting  condition  of  things  in  the  pages  of  a 
nousehold  magazine?  What  good  is  there  to  be 
served  by  flaunting  so  dark  and  disgusting  a  sub- 
ject before  the  family  circle?" 

Only  one — and  that  is  a  reason  and  not  an  ex- 
cuse !  The  recent  examination  of  more  than  two 
hundred  "white  slaves"  by  the  office  of  the  United 
States  district  attorney  at  Chicago  has  brought  to 
light  the  fact  that  literally  thousands  of  innocent 
girls  from  the  country  districts  are  every  year 
entrapped  into  a  life  of  hopeless  slavery  and  de- 
gradation because  parents  in  the  country  do  not 
understand  conditions  as  they  exist  and  how  to 
protect  their  daughters  from  the  "white  slave" 
traders  who  have  reduced  the  art  of  ruining 
young  girls  to  a  national  and  international  sys- 
tem. I  sincerely  believe  that  nine-tenths  of  the 
parents  of  these  thousands  of  girls  who  are  every 


«0 


CHICAGO 

year  snatched  from  lives  of  decency  and  compara- 
tive peace  and  dragged  under  the  slime  of  exist- 
ence in  the  "white  slave  world"  have  no  idea  that 
there  is  really  a  trade  in  the  ruin  of  girls  as  much 
as  there  is  a  trade  in  cattle  or  sheep  or  the  other 
products  of  the  farm.  If  these  parents  had  known 
the  real  conditions,  had  believed  that  there  is 
actually  a  syndicate  which  does  as  regular,  as 
steady  and  persistent  a  "business"  in  the  ruina- 
tion of  girls  as  the  great  packing  houses  do  in  the 
sale  of  meats,  it  is  wholly  probable  that  their 
daughters  would  not  now  be  in  dens  of  vice  and 
almost  utterly  without  hope  or  release  excepting 
by  the  hand  of  death. 

The  purpose  of  all  our  laws  and  statutes  against 
crime  is  the  suppression  of  crime.  The  protection 
of  the  people,  of  the  home,  of  the  individual,  is  the 
purpose  which  inspires  the  honest  and  conscien- 
tious prosecutor.  This  is  what  the  law  is  for, 
and  if  this  result  of  protection  to  individuals  and 
home  can  be  made  more  effective  and  more  gen- 
eral by  a  statement  such  as  this,  then  I  am  willing 
to  make  it  for  the  public  good.  And  the  most 
direct  and  unadorned  statement  of  facts  will,  I 
think,  carry  its  own  conviction  and  make  every- 


61 


CHICAGO 

thing  like  "preaching"  or  demineiation  super- 
fluous. 

The  evidence  obtained  from  questioning  some 
250  girls  taken  in  Chicago  houses  of  ill  repute 
leads  me  to  believe  that  not  fewer  than  fifteen 
thousand  girls  have  been  imported  into  this  coun- 
try in  the  last  year  as  white  slaves.  Of  course  this 
is  only  a  guess — an  approximate — it  could  be 
nothing  else — but  my  own  personal  belief  is  that 
it  is  a  conservative  guess  and  well  within  the  facts 
as  to  numbers.  Then  please  remember  that  girls 
imported  are  certainly  but  a  mere  fraction  of  the 
number  recruited  for  the  army  of  prostitution 
from  home  fields,  from  the  cities,  the  towns,  the 
villages  of  our  own  country.  There  is  no  possible 
escape  from  this  conclusion. 

Another  significant  fact  brought  out  by  the 
examination  of  these  girls  is  that  practically  every 
one  who  admitted  having  parents  living  begged 
that  her  real  name  be  withheld  from  the  public 
because  of  the  sorrow  and  shame  it  would  bring 
to  her  parents.  One  said:  "My  mother  thinks  I 
am  studying  in  a  stenographic  school  "  another 
stated,  "My  parents  in  the  country  think  I  have 
a  good  position  in  a  department  store — as  I  did 


CHICAGO 

have  for  a  time,  and  I  *ve  sent  them  a  little  money 
from  time  to  time;  I  don't  care  what  happens  so 
long  as  they  don't  know  the  truth  about  me."  In 
a  word,  the  one  concern  of  nearly  all  those  ex- 
amined who  have  homes  in  this  country  was  that 
their  parents — and  in  particular  their  mothers — 
might  discover,  through  the  prosecution  of  the 
** white  slavers,"  that  they  were  leading  lives  of 
shame  instead  of  working  at  the  honorable  call- 
ings which  they  had  left  their  homes  and  come  to 
the  city  to  pursue.  There  are,  to  put  it  mildly, 
hundreds — yes,  thousands — of  trusting  mothers  in 
the  smaller  cities,  the  towns,  villages  and  farming 
communities  of  the  United  States  who  believe 
that  their  daughters  are  "getting  on  fine"  in  the 
city,  and  too  busy  to  come  home  for  a  visit  or  "to 
write  much,"  while  the  fact  is  that  these  daugh- 
ters have  been  swept  into  the  gulf  of  white  slav- 
ery— the  worst  doom  that  can  befall  a  woman. 
The  mother  who  has  allowed  her  girl  to  go  to  the 
big  city  and  work  should  find  out  what  kind  of 
life  that  girl  is  living  and  find  out  from  some 
other  source  than  the  girl  herself.  No  matter  how 
good  and  fine  a  girl  she  has  been  at  home  and  how 
complete  the  confidence  she  has  always  inspired, 


CHICAGO 

find  out  how  she  is  living,  what  kind  of  associa* 
tions  she  is  keeping.  Take  nothing  for  granted. 
You  owe  it  to  yourself  and  to  her  and  it  is  not  dis- 
loyalty to  go  beyond  her  own  words  for  evidence 
that  the  wolves  of  the  city  have  not  dragged  her 
from  safe  paths.  It  is,  instead,  the  highest  form 
of  loyalty  to  her. 

Again,  there  is,  in  another  particular,  a  remark- 
able and  impressive  sameness  in  the  stories  re- 
lated by  these  wretched  girls.  In  the  narratives 
of  nearly  all  of  them  is  a  passage  describing  how 
some  man  of  their  acquaintance  had  offered  to 
"help"  them  to  a  good  position  in  the  city,  to 
"look  after"  them,  and  to  "take  an  interest"  in 
them.  After  listening  to  this  confession  from  one 
girl  after  another,  hour  after  hour,  until  you  have 
heard  it  repeated  perhaps  fifty  times,  you  feel  like 
saying  to  every  mother  in  the  country:  Do  not 
trust  any  man  who  pretends  to  take  an  interest 
in  your  girl  if  that  interest  involves  her  leaving 
your  own  roof.  Keep  her  with  you.  She  is  far 
safer  in  the  country  than  in  the  big  city,  but  if, 
go  to  the  city  she  must,  then  go  with  her  your- 
self; if  that  is  impossible,  place  her  with  some 
woman  who  is  your  friend,  not  hers ;  no  girl  can 


64 


CHICAGO 

safely  go  to  a  great  city  to  make  her  own  way 
who  is  not  under  the  eye  of  a  trustworthy  woman 
who  knows  the  ways  and  dangers  of  city  life. 
Above  all,  distrust  the  "protection,"  the  "good 
oflSces"  of  any  man  who  is  not  a  family  friend 
known  to  be  clean  and  honorable  and  above  all 
suspicion. 

Of  course  all  the  examinations  to  which  I  have 
referred  have  been  conducted  for  the  specific  pur- 
pose of  finding  girls  who  have  been  brought  into 
this  country  from  other  lands  in  defiance  of  the 
federal  statute,  passed  by  Congress  February  20, 
1907.  This  act  declares  that  any  person  who  shall 
"keep,  maintain,  support  or  harbor"  any  alien 
woman  for  immoral  purposes  within  three  years 
after  her  arrival  in  this  country  shall  be  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor  and  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of 
$5,000  and  imprisonment  for  five  years  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  court.  When  the  department  of 
justice  at  Washington  decided  that  this  law  was 
being  violated,  the  United  States  district  attorney 
at  Chicago  was  instructed  to  take  such  action  as 
was  necessary  to  apprehend  the  violators  of  the 
act  and  convict  them.  One  of  the  first  steps  re- 
quired was  the  raiding  of  the  various  dives  and 


65 


CHICAGO 

houses  of  ill  fame  and  the  arrest  of  the  girl  in- 
mates as  well  as  the  arrest  of  the  keepers  and  the 
procurers  of  the  white  slaves. 

"While  the  federal  prosecution  is  oflBeially  con- 
cerned only  with  those  cases  involving  the  impor- 
tation of  girls  from  other  countries — there  being 
no  authority  under  the  present  national  statutes 
for  the  federal  government  to  prosecute  those  con- 
cerned in  securing  white  slaves  who  are  natives 
of  this  country — it  was  inevitable  that  the  exami- 
nation of  scores  of  these  inmates,  captured  in 
raids  upon  the  dives,  should  bring  to  officers  and 
agents  of  the  department  of  justice  an  immense 
fund  of  information  regarding  the  methods  of  the 
white  slave  traders  in  recruiting  for  the  traflSc 
from  home  fields. 

"Whether  these  hunters  of  the  innocent  ply  their 
awful  calling  at  home  or  abroad  their  methods  are 
much  the  same — with  the  exception  that  the  for- 
eign girl  is  more  hopelessly  at  their  mercy.  Let 
me  take  the  case  of  a  little  Italian  peasant  girl 
who  helped  her  father  till  the  soil  in  the  vine- 
yards and  fields  near  Naples.  Like  most  of  the 
others  taken  in  the  raids,  she  stoutly  maintained 
that  she  had  been  in  this  country  more  than  three 


es 


CHICAGO 

years  and  that  she  was  in  a  life  of  shame  from 
choice  and  not  through  the  criminal  act  of  any 
person.  When  she  was  brought  into  what  the 
sensational  newspapers  would  call  the  "sweat 
box,"  in  was  clear  that  she  was  in  a  state  of  ab- 
ject terror.  Soon,  however.  Assistant  United  States 
District  Attorney  Parkin,  having  charge  of  the 
examination,  convinced  her  that  he  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  her  friends  and  protectors  and  thit 
their  purpose  was  to  punish  those  who  had  profit- 
ed by  her  ruin  and  to  send  her  back  to  her  little 
Italian  home  with  all  her  expenses  paid ;  that  she 
was  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States  and 
was  as  safe  as  if  the  king  of  Italy  would  take  her 
under  his  royal  care  and  pledge  his  word  that  her 
enemies  should  not  have  revenge  on  her. 

Then  she  broke  down,  and  with  pitiful  sobs 
related  her  awful  narrative.  That  every  word  of 
it  was  true,  no  one  could  doubt  who  saw  her  as 
she  told  it.  Briefly  this  is  her  story:  A  "fine 
lady"  who  wore  beautiful  clothes  came  to  where 
she  lived  with  her  parents,  made  friends  with  her, 
told  her  she  was  uncommonly  pretty  (the  truth, 
by  the  way),  and  professed  a  great  interest  :n  her. 
Such  flattering  attentions  from  an  American  laJy 


67 


CHICAGO 

who  wore  clothes  as  fine  as  those  of  the  Italian 
nobility,  could  have  but  one  effect  on  the  mind  of 
this  simple  little  peasant  girl  and  on  her  still 
simpler  parents.  Their  heads  were  completely 
turned  and  they  regarded  the  "American  lady** 
with  almost  adoration. 

Very  shrewdly  the  woman  did  not  attempt  to 
bring  the  little  girl  back  with  her,  but  held  out 
hope  that  some  day  a  letter  might  come  with 
money  for  her  passage  to  America.  Once  there 
she  would  become  the  companion  of  her  American 
friend  and  they  would  have  great  times  together. 

Of  course,  in  due  time  the  money  came — and 
the  $100  was  a  most  substantial  pledge  to  the 
parents  of  the  wealth  and  generosity  of  the 
"American  lady."  Unhesitatingly  she  was  pre- 
pared for  the  voyage  which  was  to  take  her  to 
the  land  of  happiness  and  good  fortune.  Accord- 
ing to  the  arrangements  made  by  letter  the  girl 
was  met  at  New  York  by  two  "friends"  of  her 
benefactress  who  attended  to  her  entrance  papers 
and  took  her  in  charge.  These  "friends"  were 
two  of  the  most  brutal  of  all  the  white  slave  driv- 
ers who  are  in  the  traffic.  At  this  time  she  was 
about  sixteen  years  old,  innocent  and  rarely  at- 

9ft 


CHICAGO 

tractive  for  a  girl  of  her  class,  having  the  large, 
handsome  eyes,  the  black  hair  and  the  rich  olive 
skin  of  a  typical  Italian. 

Where  these  two  men  took  her  she  did  not  know 
— but  by  the  most  violent  and  brutal  means  they 
quickly  accomplished  her  ruin.  For  a  week  she 
was  subjected  to  unspeakable  treatment  and  made 
to  feel  that  her  degredation  was  complete  and 
final. 

And  here  let  it  be  said  that  the  breaking  of  the 
spirit,  the  crushing  of  all  hope  for  any  future  save 
that  of  shame,  is  always  a  part  of  the  initiation 
of  a  white  slave.  Then  the  girl  was  shipped  on  to 
Chicago,  where  she  was  disposed  of  to  the  keeper 
of  an  Italian  dive  of  the  vilest  type.  On  her  en- 
trance here  she  was  furnished  with  gaudy  dresses 
and  wearing  apparel  for  which  the  keeper  of  the 
place  charged  her  $600.  As  is  the  case  with  all 
new  white  slaves  she  was  not  allowed  to  have  any 
clothing  which  she  could  wear  upon  the  street. 

Her  one  object  in  life  was  to  escape  from  the 
den  in  which  she  was  held  a  prisoner.  To  "pay 
out"  seemd  the  surest  way,  and  at  length,  from 
her  wages  of  shame,  she  was  able  to  cancel  the 
$600  account.  Then  she  asked  for  her  street  cloth- 


69 


CHICAGO 

mg  and  her  release — only  to  be  told  that  she  had 
incurred  other  expenses  to  the  amount  of  $400. 

Her  Italian  blood  took  fire  at  this  and  she  made 
a  dash  for  liberty.  But  she  was  not  quick  enough 
and  the  hand  of  the  oppressor  was  upon  her.  In 
the  widl  scene  that  followed  she  was  slashed  with 
a  razor,  one  gash  straight  through  her  right  eye, 
one  across  her  cheek  and  another  slitting  her  ear. 
Then  she  was  given  medical  attention  and  the 
wounds  gradually  healed,  but  her  face  was  horri- 
bly mutilated,  her  right  eye  is  always  open  and 
to  look  upon  her  is  to  shudder. 

When  the  raids  began  she  was  secreted  and  ar- 
rangements made  to  ship  her  to  a  dive  in  the  min- 
ing regions  of  the  west.  Fortunately,  however, 
a  few  hours  before  she  was  to  start  upon  her 
journey  the  United  States  marshals  raided  the 
place  and  captured  herself  as  well  as  her  keepers. 
To  add  to  the  horror  of  her  situation  she  was  soon 
to  become  a  mother.  The  awful  thought  in  her 
mind,  however,  was  to  escape  from  assassination 
at  the  hands  of  the  murderous  gang  which  op- 
pressed her. 

Evidence  shows  that  the  hirelings  of  this  traf- 
fic are  stationed  at  certain  points  of  entry  in  Can- 


70 


CHICAGO 

ada,  where  large  nnmbers  of  immigrants  are 
landed,  to  do  what  is  known  in  their  parlance  as 
'  *  cutting  out  work. '  *  In  other  words,  these  watch- 
ers for  human  prey  scan  the  immigrants  as  they 
eome  down  the  gang  plank  of  a  vessel  which  has 
just  arrived,  and  "spot"  the  girls  who  are  unac- 
companied by  fathers,  mothers,  brothers  or  rela- 
tives to  protect  them.  The  girl  who  has  been 
spotted  as  a  desirable  and  unprotected  victim  is 
properly  approached  by  a  man  who  speaks  her 
language  and  is  immediately  offered  employment 
at  good  wages,  with  all  expenses  to  the  destina- 
tion to  be  paid  by  the  man.  Most  frequently  laun- 
dry work  is  the  bait  held  out,  sometimes  house- 
work or  employment  in  a  candy  shop  or  factory. 
The  object  of  the  negotiations  is  to  **cut  out" 
the  girl  from  any  of  her  associates  and  to  get  her 
to  go  with  him.  Then  the  only  thing  is  to  accom- 
plish her  ruin  by  the  shortest  route.  If  they  can- 
not be  cajoled  or  enticed  by  promises  of  an  easy 
time,  plenty  of  money,  fine  clothes  and  the  usual 
stock  of  allurements — or  a  fake  marriage,  then 
harsher  methods  are  resorted  to.  In  some  in- 
stances the  hunters  really  marry  the  victims.  As 
to  the  sterner  methods,  it  is  of  course  impossible 

71 


CHICAGO 

to  speak  explicitly,  beyond  the  statement  that  in- 
toxication and  drugging  are  often  used  as  means 
to  reduce  the  victims  to  a  state  of  helplessness, 
and  sheer  physical  violence  is  a  common  thing. 

When  once  a  white  slave  is  sold  and  landed  in 
a  house  or  dive,  she  becomes  a  prisoner.  The  raids 
disclosed  the  fact  that  in  each  of  these  places  is  a 
room  having  but  one  door,  to  which  the  keeper 
holds  the  key.  In  here  are  locked  all  the  street 
clothes,  shoes  and  the  ordinary  apparel  of  a 
woman. 

The  finery  which  is  provided  for  the  girl  for 
house  wear  is  of  a  nature  to  make  her  appearance 
in  the  street  impossible.  Then  added  to  this  han- 
dicap, is  the  fact  that  at  once  the  girl  is  placed 
in  debt  to  the  keeper  for  a  wardrobe  of  "fancy" 
clothes,  which  are  charged  to  her  at  preposterous 
prices.  She  cannot  escape  while  she  is  in  debt  to 
the  keeper — and  she  is  never  allowed  to  get  out 
of  debt — at  least  until  all  desire  to  leave  the  life 
is  dead  within  her. 

The  examination  of  witnesses  have  brought  out 
the  fact  that  not  many  of  the  women  in  this  class 
expect  to  live  more  than  ten  years,  after  they  en- 
ter upon  their  voluntary  or  involuntary  life  of 


72 


CHICAGO 

white  slavery.  Perhaps  the  average  is  less  than 
that.  Many  die  painful  deaths  by  disease,  many 
by  consumption,  but  it  is  hardly  beyond  the  truth 
to  say  that  suicide  is  their  general  expectation. 
"We'll  all  come  to  it  sooner  or  later,'*  one  of  the 
witnesses  remarked  to  her  companions  in  the  jail, 
the  other  day,  when  reading  in  the  newspaper  of 
the  suicide  of  a  girl  inmate  of  a  notorious  house. 

A  volume  could  be  written  on  this  revolting 
subject,  but  I  have  no  disposition  to  add  a  single 
word  but  what  will  open  the  eyes  of  parents  to  the 
fact  that  white  slavery  is  an  existing  condition — 
a  system  of  girl  hunting  that  is  national  and  inter- 
national in  its  scope,  that  it  literally  consumes 
thousands  of  girls — clean,  innocent  girls — every 
year ;  that  it  is  operated  with  a  cruelty,  a  barbar- 
ism that  gives  a  new  meaning  to  the  word  fiend; 
that  it  is  imminent  peril  to  every  girl  in  the  coun- 
try who  had  a  desire  to  get  into  the  city  and  taste 
its  excitements  and  its  pleasures. 

The  facts  stated  here  are  for  the  awakening  of 
parents  and  guardians  of  girls.  If  I  were  to  pre- 
sume to  say  anything  to  the  possible  victims  of 
this  awful  scourge  of  white  slavery  it  would  be 
this:    "Those  who  enter  here  leave  hope  behind;" 

If 


CHICAGO 

the  depths  of  debasement  and  suffering  discloned 
by  the  investigation  now  in  progress  would  make 
the  flesh  of  a  seasoned  man  of  the  world  or«ep 
with  horror  and  shame. 


T4 


Why  Girls  Go  Astray 

Bight  at  the  outset  let  me  say  in  all  franknea 
that  I  would  never,  from  personal  choice,  write 
upon  a  subject  of  this  character.  Its  sensational- 
ism is  personally  repellant  to  me  and  cannot  fail 
to  be  of  actual  protective  benefit  to  many  homes; 
and  to  withhold  the  facts  and  disclosures  which 
have  come  to  me  as  investigator  would  be  to  de- 
prive the  innocent  and  the  worthy  of  a  protection 
nrhich  might  save  many  a  home  from  sorrow,  dis- 
grace and  ruin. 

The  results  of  this  work  and  of  the  explana- 
tions of  the  conditions  uncovered  in  this  book 
have  brought  to  me  a  gratifying  knowledge  of  the 
practical  rescue  work  being  done  by  the  settle- 
ment and  "slum"  workers  of  Chicago.  They  are 
not  only  specialists  in  this  field,  but  they  are  as 
devoted  as  they  are  practical. 

So  far  as  the  matter  of  sensationalism  is  con- 
cerned, that  may  be  disposed  of  in  the  simple 
statement   that  the  naked  recital,  in  the  most 

7» 


CHICAGO 

formal  and  colorless  phraseology,  of  the  facts  al- 
ready brought  to  light  by  the  "white  slave"  pros- 
ecutions are  in  themselves  so  sensational  that  the 
art  of  the  most  brilliant  orator,  or  the  cunning  of 
the  cleverest  writer,  could  not  add  an  iota  to  their 
sensationalism.  And  it  may  as  well  be  said  here 
that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  even  hint  in  public 
print  of  the  revolting  depths  of  shame  disclosed 
by  this  investigation.  Behind  every  word  that  can 
be  said  in  print  on  this  topic  is  a  world  of  degrad- 
ation of  which  the  slightest  hint  cannot  be  given. 
If  there  are  any  who  are  inclined  to  feel  that 
the  term  ** white  slave"  is  a  little  overdrawn,  a 
little  exaggerated,  let  them  decide  on  that  point 
after  considering  this  statement:  "Among  the 
*  white  slaves'  captured  in  raids  since  the  appear- 
ance of  this  book,  is  a  girl  who  is  now  about  eigh- 
teen years  of  age.  Her  home  was  in  Prance,  and 
when  she  was  only  fourteen  years  old  she  was  ap- 
proached by  a  'white  slaver*  who  promised  her 
employment  in  America  as  a  lady's  maid  or  com- 
panion. The  wage  offered  was  far  beyond  what 
she  could  expect  to  get  in  her  own  country — ^but 
far  more  alluring  to  her  than  the  money  she 
could  earn  was  the  picture  of  the  life  which  would 


76 


CHICAGO 

be  hers  in  free  America.  Her  surroundings  would 
be  luxurious ;  she  would  be  the  constant  recipient 
of  gifts  of  dainty  clothing  from  her  mistress,  and 
even  the  hardest  work  she  would  be  called  upon  to 
do  would  be  in  itself  a  pleasure  and  an  excitement. 

**  Naturally  she  was  eager  to  leave  her  home  and 
trust  herself  to  one  who  would  provide  her  with 
so  enriching  a  future.  Her  friends  of  her  own  age 
seasoned  their  farewells  to  her  with  envy  of  her 
rare  good  fortue. 

**0n  arriving  in  Chicago  she  was  taken  to  the 
house  of  ill-fame  to  which  she  had  been  sold  by 
the  procurer.  There  this  child  of  fourteen  was 
quickly  and  unceremoniously  'broken  in*  to  the 
hideous  life  of  depravity  for  which  she  had  been 
entrapped.  The  white  slaver  who  sold  her  was 
able  to  drive  a  most  profitable  bargain,  for  she  was 
rated  as  uncommonly  attractive.  In  fact,  he  made 
her  life  of  shame  a  perpetual  source  of  income, 
and  when — not  long  ago — he  was  captured  and 
indicted  for  the  importation  of  other  girls,  this 
girl  was  used  as  the  agency  of  providing  him  with 
$2,000  for  his  defense. 

"But  let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  the  mention- 
able  facts  of  this  child's  daily  routine  of  life  and 


77 


CHICAGO 

see  if  such  an  existence  justifies  the  use  of  the 
term  'slavery.*  After  she  had  furnished  a  night 
of  servitude  to  the  brutal  passions  of  vile  fre- 
quenters of  the  place,  she  was  then  compelled  to 
put  off  her  tawdy  costume,  array  herself  in  the 
garb  of  a  scrub-woman,  and.  on  her  hands  and 
knees,  scrub  the  house  from  top  to  bottom.  No 
weariness,  no  exhaustion,  ever  excused  her  from 
this  drudgery,  which  was  a  full  day's  work  for 
a  strong  woman. 

'  *  After  her  scrubbing  was  done  she  was  allowed 
to  go  to  her  chamber  and  sleep — locked  in  her 
room  to  prevent  her  possible  escape — until  the  or- 
gies of  the  next  day,  or  rather  night,  began.  She 
was  allowed  no  liberties,  no  freedom,  and  in  the 
two  and  one  half  years  of  her  slavery  in  this  house 
she  was  not  even  given  one  dollar  to  spend  for  her 
own  comfort  or  pleasure.  The  legal  evidence  col- 
lected shows  that  during  this  period  of  slavery 
«he  earned  for  those  who  owned  her  not  less  than 
eight  thousand  dollars!" 

If  this  is  not  slavery,  I  have  no  definition  for  it. 

Let  us  make  it  entirely  clear  that  the  white 
■lave  is  an  actual  prisoner.  She  is  under  the  most 
constant  surveillance,  both  by  the  keeper  to  whom 


78 


CHICAGO 

she  18  "let'*  and  the  procurer  who  owns  her.  Not 
until  she  has  lost  all  possible  desire  to  escape  is 
she  given  any  liberty. 

Before  me,  as  I  write,  is  a  letter  from  a  father 
which  is  a  tragedy  in  a  page.  He  begins  the  note 
by  saying  that  the  warning  has  aroused  him  to 
inquire  after  his  ** little  girl."  There  is  a  pathetic 
pride  in  his  admission  that  she  was  considered  an 
uncommonly  * '  pretty  girl ' '  when  she  left  her  home 
to  take  a  position  in  Chicago.  Her  letters,  he 
states,  have  been  more  and  more  infrequent,  but 
that  she  does  occasionally  write  home,  and  some- 
times encloses  a  small  amount  of  money.  From 
the  tone  of  the  father's  note  it  is  evident  that, 
while  he  is  a  trifle  anxious,  he  asks  that  his  daugh- 
ter be  * '  looked  up ' '  rather  to  confirm  his  feelings 
of  confidence  that  she  is  all  right  than  otherwise. 

A  glance  at  the  address  where  she  was  to  be 
found  left  no  possible  questoin  as  to  the  fate 
which  had  overtaken  this  daughter  of  a  country 
home.  So  far  as  a  knowledge  of  the  girl's  mode 
of  life  is  concerned,  no  investigation  was  neces- 
sary— the  location  named  being  in  the  center  of 
Chicago's  "red  light"  district. 

However,  the  case  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 


79 


CHICAGO 

eettlement  worker,  and  at  this  moment  the  girl  ia 
waiting,  in  a  place  of  safety,  for  the  arrival  of  her 
father,  who  is  on  his  way  to  take  her  back  to  the 
mother  and  brothers  and  sisters  who  have  sup- 
posed that  she  was  holding  a  respectable,  but 
poorly  paid  position.  They  will,  however,  wel- 
come a  very  different  person  from  the  "pretty 
girl"  who  went  out  from  that  home  to  make  her 
way  in  the  big  city.  She  is  pitifully  wasted  by 
the  life  which  she  has  led  and  her  constitution  is 
so  broken  down  that  she  cannot  reasonably  expect 
many  years  of  life,  even  under  the  tenderest  care. 
What  is  still  worse,  the  fact  cannot  be  denied  that 
her  moral  fibre  is  much  shattered,  and  that  the 
work  of  reclamation  must  be  more  than  physical. 

The  "White  slaves"  who  have  been  taken  in  the 
course  of  the  present  prosecution  have,  generally, 
been  very  grateful  for  the  liberation  and  glad  to 
return  to  their  homes.  It  has  been  necessary  for 
their  own  protection  as  well  as  for  other  reasons — 
to  commit  some  of  these  unfortunates  to  various 
prisons  pending  the  trial  of  the  cases  in  which 
they  are  to  appear  as  witnesses,  and  practically 
every  one  of  them  gives  unmistakable  evidence 


80 


CHICAGO 

that  imprisonment  is  a  welcome  liberation  by  com- 
parison with  the  life  of  "white  slavery." 

Now,  as  to  the  practical  means  which  parents 
should  use  to  prevent  this  unspeakable  fate  from 
overtaking  their  daughters.  They  cannot  do  it  by 
assuming  that  their  daughter  is  all  right  and  that 
she  will  take  care  of  herself  in  the  big  city.  In  a 
large  measure  it  seems  impossible  to  arouse  par- 
ents— especially  those  in  the  country — to  a  real- 
ization that  there  is  in  every  big  city  a  class  of 
men  and  women  who  live  by  trapping  girls  into 
a  life  of  degredation  and  who  are  as  inhumanly 
cunning  in  their  awful  craft  as  they  are  in  their 
other  instincts;  that  these  beasts  of  the  human 
jungle  are  as  unbelievably  desperate  as  they  are 
unbelievably  cruel,  and  that  their  warfare  upon 
virtue  is  as  persistent,  as  calculating  and  as  un- 
ceasing as  was  the  warfare  of  the  wolf  upon  the 
unprotected  lamb  of  the  pioneer's  flock  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Western  frontier. 

I  cannot  escape  the  conclusion  that  the  country 
girl  is  in  greater  danger  from  the  **  white  slavers" 
than  thtj  city  girl.  The  perusal  of  testimony  of 
many  "white  slaves'*  enforces  this  conclusion. 
This  is  because  they  are  less  sophisticated,  more 


81 


CHICAGO 

trusting  and  more  open  to  the  allurements  of 
those  who  are  waiting  to  prey  upon  them. 

It  is  a  fact  which  parents  of  girls  in  the  coun- 
try should  remember  that  the  "white  slavers"  are 
busy  on  the  trains  coming  into  the  city,  and  make 
it  a  point  to  "cut  out"  an  attractive  girl  when- 
ever they  can.  This  "cutting  out"  process  con- 
sists of  making  the  girl's  acquaintance,  gaining 
her  confidence  and,  on  one  pretext  or  another,  in- 
ducing her  to  leave  the  train  before  the  main 
depot  is  reached.  This  is  done  because  the  vari- 
ous protective  and  law  and  order  organizations 
have  watchers  at  the  main  railroad  stations  who 
are  trained  to  the  work  of  "spotting,"  and  quick- 
ly detect  a  girl  in  the  hands  of  one  of  these  hu- 
man beasts  of  prey.  Generally  these  watchers  are 
women  and  wear  the  badges  of  their  organiza- 
tions. 

But  suppose  that  the  girl  from  the  country  does 
not  chance  to  fall  in  with  the  "white  slaver"  on 
the  train,  that  she  reaches  the  city  in  safety,  be- 
comes located  in  a  position — or  perhaps  in  the 
stenographic  school  or  business  college  which  she 
has  come  to  attend — and  secures  a  room  in  a 
boarding  house.    No  human  being,  it  seems  to  me, 


82 


CHICAGO 

is  quite  so  lonely  as  the  young  girl  from  the 
country  when  she  first  comes  to  the  city  and  starts 
in  the  struggles  of  life  there  without  acquain- 
tances. All  her  instincts  are  social,  and  she  is,  for 
the  time  being,  almost  desolately  alone  in  a  wil- 
derness of  strange  human  beings.  She  must  have 
some  one  to  talk  to — ^it  is  the  law  of  youth  as  well 
as  the  law  of  her  sex  to  crave  constant  companion- 
ship. And  the  consequences  ?  She  is  sentimental- 
ly in  a  condition  to  prepare  her  for  the  slaughter, 
to  make  her  an  easy  prey  to  the  wiles  of  the 
"white  slave"  wolf. 

The  girl  reared  in  the  city  does  not  have  this 
peculiar  and  insidious  handicap  to  contend  with; 
she  has  been — from  the  time  she  could  first  toddle 
along  the  sidewalk — educated  in  wholesome  sus- 
picion, taught  that  she  must  not  talk  with  strang- 
ers or  take  candy  from  them,  that  she  must  with- 
draw herself  from  all  advances  and,  in  large  meas- 
ure, regard  all  save  her  own  people  with  distrust. 
As  she  grows  older  she  comes  to  know  that  certain 
parts  of  the  city  are  more  dangerous  and  more 
"wicked"  than  others;  that  her  comings  and  go- 
ings must  always  be  in  safe  and  familiar  company; 
that  her  acquaintanceships  and  her  friendships 


83 


CHICAGO 

must  be  scrutinized  by  her  natural  protectors  and 
that,  altogether,  there  is  a  definite  but  undefined 
danger  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  the  city  for  the 
girl  or  the  young  woman  which  demands  a  con- 
stant and  protected  alertness. 

The  training  is  almost  wholly  absent  in  the  case 
of  the  country  girl;  she  is  not  educated  in  sus- 
picion until  the  protective  instinct  acts  almost  un- 
consciously ;  her  intercourse  with  her  world  is  al- 
most comparatively  free  and  unrestrained;  she 
is  so  unlearned  in  the  moral  and  social  geography 
of  the  city  that  she  is  quite  as  likely,  if  left  to  her 
own  devices,  to  select  her  boarding  house  in  an 
undesirable  as  in  a  safe  and  desirable  part  of  the 
city ;  and,  in  a  word,  when  she  comes  into  the  city 
her  ignorance,  her  trusting  faith  in  humanity  in 
general,  her  ignorance  of  the  underworld  and  her 
loneliness  and  perhaps  home-sickness,  conspire  to 
make  her  a  ready  and  an  easy  victim  of  the 
** white  slaver." 

In  view  of  what  I  have  learned  in  the  course  of 
the  recent  investigation  and  prosecution  of  the 
** white  slave"  trafiic,  I  can  say  in  all  sincerity, 
that  if  I  lived  in  the  country  and  had  a  young 
daughter,  I  would  go  to  any  length  of  hardship 


84 


CHICAGO 

and  privation  myself  rather  than  allow  her  to  go 
into  the  city  to  work  or  to  study — unless  that 
studying  were  to  be  done  in  the  very  best  type  of 
an  educational  institution  where  the  girl  students 
were  always  under  the  closest  protection.  The 
best  and  surest  way  for  parents  of  girls  in  the 
country  to  protect  them  from  the  clutches  of  the 
"white  slaver"  is  to  keep  them  in  the  country. 
But  if  circumstances  should  seem  to  compel  a 
change  from  the  country  to  the  city,  then  the  only 
safe  way  is  to  go  with  them  into  the  city;  but 
even  this  last  has  its  disadvantages  from  the  fact 
that,  in  that  case,  the  parents  would  themselves 
be  unfamiliar  with  the  usages  and  the  pitfalls  of 
metropolitan  life,  and  would  not  be  able  to  pro- 
tect their  daughters  as  carefully  as  if  they  had 
•pent  their  own  lives  in  the  city. 


85 


More  About  the  Traffic 
in  Shame 

The  dragnets  of  the  inhuman  men  and  womjen 
who  ply  their  terrible  trade  are  spread  day  and 
night  and  are  manipulated  with  a  skill  and  pre- 
cision which  ought  to  strike  terror  to  the  heart 
of  every  careless  or  indifferent  parent.  The  won- 
der is  not  that  so  many  are  caught  in  this  net, 
but  that  they  escape !  *'I  count  the  week — I  might 
almost  say  the  day — a  happy  and  fortunate  ono 
which  does  not  bring  to  my  attention  as  an  officer 
of  the  state  a  deplorable  case  of  this  kind,"  said 
Mrs.  Ophelia  Amigh. 

Just  to  show  how  tightly  and  broadly  the  nets 
of  these  fishers  for  girls  are  spread,  let  me  tell 
you  of  an  instance  which  occurred  to  a  girl  from 
this  institution: 

This  girl,  whom  I  will  call  Nellie,  is  a  very  or- 
dinary looking  girl,  and  below  the  average  of  in- 
telligence, but  as  tractable  and  obedient  as  she  is 
ingenous.    She  is  wholly  without  the  charm  whicli 


CHICAGO 

would  naturally  attract  the  eye  of  the  white  sIaT« 
trader. 

Because  of  her  quietness,  her  obedience  and  her 
good  disposition,  she  was,  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  the  institution,  permitted  to  go  into  the 
family  of  a  substantial  farmer  out  in  the  west  and 
work  as  a  housemaid,  a  "hired  girl" — her  wages 
to  be  deposited  to  her  credit  against  the  time 
when  she  should  reach  the  age  of  twenty-one  and 
leave  the  Home. 

She  had  been  in  her  position  for  some  time  and 
was  so  quiet  and  satisfactory  that  one  Sunday 
when  the  family  were  not  going  to  church,  the 
mistress  said: 

*' Nellie,  if  you  wish  to  go  to  church  alone  you 
may  do  so.  The  milk  wagon  will  be  along  shortly 
and  you  can  ride  on  that  to  the  village — and  here 
is  seventy-five  cents.  You  may  want  to  buy  your 
dinner  and  perhaps  some  candy." 

When  Nellie  reached  town  and  was  on  her  way 
past  the  railroad  station  to  the  church,  the  train 
for  Chicago  came  in,  and  the  impulse  seized  her 
to  get  aboard,  go  to  the  city  and  look  up  her 
father,  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  several  months. 
She  went  to  the  city  and  hardly  stepped  from  the 


87 


CHICAGO 

train  into  the  big  station  when  she  heard  a  man's 
voice  saying,  *  *  Why,  hello,  Mary ! '  * 

Instantly — foolishly,  of  course — she  answered 
him  and  replied : 

"My  name  is  not  Mary,  it's  Nellie." 

"You  look  the  very  picture,"  he  responded,  "of 
a  girl  I  know  well  whose  name  is  Mary — and  she 's 
a  fine  girl,  too!  Are  any  of  your  folks  here  to 
meet  you?" 

"No,"  she  answered,  "my  father's  here  in  the 
city  somewhere,  but  he  doesn't  know  I'm  coming. 
I've  been  working  out  in  the  country  for  a  long 
time  and  I  didn't  write  him  about  coming  back." 

Her  answers  were  so  ingenious  and  revealing 
that  the  man  saw  that  he  had  an  easy  and  simple 
victim  to  deal  with.  Therefore  his  tactics  were 
very  direct. 

"It's  about  time  to  eat,"  he  suggested,  "and  I 
guess  we  're  both  hungry.  You  go  to  a  restaurant 
and  eat  with  me  and  perhaps  I  can  help  you  to 
find  your  father  quicker  than  you  could  do  it 
alone. ' ' 

She  accepted,  and  in  the  course  of  the  meal  he 
asked  her  if  she  would  like  to  find  a  place  at 
which  to  work.    "I  know  a  fine  place  in  Blank 


88 


CHICAGO 

City,"  he  added.  "The  woman  is  looking  for  a 
good  girl  just  like  you. ' ' 

"Yes,  I'd  be  pleased  to  get  the  place,  but  I 
haven't  any  money  to  pay  the  fare  with,"  was  her 
answer. 

* '  Oh,  that 's  all  right, ' '  he  quickly  replied.  "  I  '11 
buy  your  ticket  and  give  you  a  little  money  be- 
sides for  a  cab  and  other  expenses.  The  woman 
told  me  to  do  that  if  I  could  find  her  a  girl.  She'll 
send  me  back  a  check  for  it  all." 

After  he  had  bought  the  ticket  and  put  her 
aboard  the  train  going  to  Blank  City,  he  wrote 
the  name  of  the  woman  to  whom  he  was  sending 
her,  gave  her  about  $2  extra  and  then  delivered 
this  fatherly  advice  to  her : 

"You're  just  a  young  girl,  and  it's  best  for  you 
not  to  talk  to  anybody  on  the  train  or  after  you 
get  off.  Don't  show  this  paper  to  anybody  or  tell 
anybody  where  you're  going.  It  isn't  any  of  their 
business  anyway.  And  as  soon  as  you  get  off  the 
train  you'll  find  plenty  of  cabs  there.  Hand  your 
paper  to  the  first  cab  driver  in  the  line,  get  in  and 

ride  to  Mrs.  A 's  home.    Pay  the  driver  and 

then  walk  in." 

Believing  that  she  was  being  furnished  a  posi- 


CHICAGO 

tion  by  a  remarkably  kind  man,  the  poor  girl  fol- 
lowed his  direction  implicitly — and  landed  the 
next  day  in  one  of  the  most  notorious  houses  of 
shame  in  the  state  of  Illinois  outside  of  Chicago. 
How  she  was  found  and  rescued  is  a  story  quite 
apart  from  the  purpose  which  has  led  me  to  tell  of 
this  incident — that  of  indicating  how  tightly  the 
slave  traders  have  their  nets  spread  for  even  the 
most  ordinary  and  unattractive  prey.  They  let  no 
girl  escape  whom  they  dare  to  approach ! 


90 


Crime  in  Chicago 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  men  and  women  of 
certain  grades  of  intellect  and  temperament  de- 
liberately devote  themselves  to  lives  of  crime. 
These  constitute  the  "professional  criminals," 
who  make  up  such  a  terrible  class  in  the  popula- 
tion of  every  great  city.  In  Chicago  this 
class  is  undoubtedly  large,  but  not  so  large  as 
many  people  assert.  That  it  is  active  and  danger- 
ous, the  police  records  of  the  city  afford  ample 
testimony.  It  is  very  hard  to  obtain  any  reliable 
statistics  respecting  the  professional  votaries  of 
crime,  but  it  would  seem,  after  careful  investiga- 
tion, that  Chicago  contains  about  3,000  of  them. 
These  consist  of  thieves,  burglars,  fences  and 
pick-pockets. 

In  addition  to  these  we  may  include  under  the 

head    of   professional    criminals,   the   following: 

Women  of  ill-fame,  20,000,  keepers  of  gambling 

houses  and  of  policy  and  lottery  offices  about  600, 

making    in    aU    about   23,600    professional    law 


91 


CHICAGO 

breakers.    This  is  a  startling  statement,  but  un- 
happily true. 

The  populatoin  of  Chicago  is  more  cosmopoli- 
tan than  that  of  any  city  in  the  union  and  the 
majority  of  the  people  are  poor.  The  struggle  for 
existence  is  a  hard  one,  and  offers  every  induce- 
ment for  crime.  The  political  system  which  is 
based  more  or  less  upon  plunder,  presents  the 
spectacles  of  dishonesty.  The  professionals  are 
not  ignorant  men  and  women,  however.  Among 
them  may  be  found  many  whose  abilities,  if  prop- 
erly directed,  would  win  for  them  positions  of 
honor  and  usefulness.  There  seems  to  be  a  fascin- 
ation in  crime  to  those  people,  and  they  delib- 
erately enter  upon  it. 

The  principal  form  which  crime  assumes  in  Chi- 
cago is  robbery.  The  professionals  do  not  deliber- 
ately engage  in  murder  or  the  graver  crimes; 
though  they  do  not  hesitate  to  commit  them  if  nec- 
essary to  their  success  or  safety.  They  prefer  to 
pursue  their  vocation  without  taking  life;  and 
murder,  arson,  rape  and  capital  crimes  are,  there- 
fore, not  more  common  here  than  in  other  large 
cities.  Robbery,  however,  is  a  science  here,  and  it 


92 


CHICAGO 

is  of  its  various  forms  the  following  pages  will 
treat. 

The  professional  criminals  in  Chicago  constitute 
a  distinct  community;  they  are  known  to  each 
other,  and  seldom  make  any  eiffort  to  associate 
with  people  of  respectability.  They  infest  certain 
sections  of  the  city  where  they  can  easily  and 
rapidly  communicate  with  each  other,  and  can 
hide  in  safety  from  the  police. 

Chicago  thieves  are  of  two  sorts — ^those  who 
steal  only  when  they  are  tempted  by  want,  or 
when  an  unusual  opportunity  for  successful  thiev- 
ing is  thrown  their  way,  and  those  who  make  a 
regular  business  of  stealing.  A  professional  thief 
ranks  among  his  fellows  according  to  his  ability. 
Many  professional  thieves  are  burglars.  They 
drink  to  excess  and  commit  so  many  blunders 
that  they  are  easily  detected  by  the  police.  They 
gamble  a  great  deal.  When  successful  they  quar- 
rel over  their  booty,  and  often  betray  each  other. 
A  smart  thief  seldom  drinks  and  never  allows 
himself  to  get  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  He 
tries  to  keep  himself  in  the  best  physical  trim; 
and  is  always  ready  for  a  long  run  when  pursued, 
or  a  desperate  struggle  when  cornered.    He  must 


93 


CHICAGO 

always  have  his  wits  about  him.  A  thief  of  this 
elass  makes  a  successful  bank  robber,  forger,  or 
confidence  swindler.  Professional  thieves  seldom 
have  any  home.  Many  of  them  find  temporary 
shelter  in  a  dull  season  in  houses  of  ill-repute. 
They  associate  with  and  are  often  married  to  dis- 
reputable women,  many  of  whom  are  also  thieves. 
The  smartest  thieves  do  not  have  homes,  for  the 
reason  that  they  dare  not  remain  long  in  one  place 
for  fear  of  arrest.  During  the  summer,  Chicago 
thieves  are  to  be  found  at  all  summer  and  sea- 
shore resorts.  Later  in  the  season  they  attend  the 
county  fairs  and  agricultural  shows,  and  any 
place  where  large  crowds  assemble  and  come 
back  to  the  city  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  They 
are  fond  of  political  meetings  and  reap  a  rich 
harvest  at  some  of  these  gatherings. 

If  I  were  asked  whether  there  were  any  place 
in  the  city  where  thieves  were  educated  in  their 
business,  I  would  answer,  No.'*  It  would  be  im- 
possible for  such  places  to  exist  without  being  dis- 
covered. Thieves  educate  themselves,  or  get  their 
knowledge  by  associating  with  other  thieves  more 
expriencd  than  themselves.  Those  people  who 
believe  in  the  existence  of  schools  where  boys 


M 


CHICAGO 

•re  taught  the  art  of  picking  pockets,  have  got 
their  belief  from  works  of  fiction  like  Dickens* 
"Oliver  Twist."  The  dram-shops  and  brothels  of 
the  city  where  the  thieves  congregate,  are  the 
only  places  which  can  be  called  schools  of  crime. 
For  the  purpose  of  communicating  with  each 
other,  the  professional  thieves  have  a  language, 
or  argot,  which  is  also  common  to  their  brethren 
in  other  large  cities.  It  is  generally  known  as 
** patter,"  and  is  said  to  be  of  Gypsy  origin.  A 
few  phrases,  taken  at  random  from  a  leaflet  hand- 
ed me,  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  it.  "Abra- 
ham," Jew;  to  sham,  to  pretend  sickness;  "Au- 
tumn cove,"  a  married  man;  "Autumn  cacler,"  a 
married  woman;  "Bag  of  nails,"  everything  in 
confusion;  "Ballum  rancum,"  a  ball  where  all  the 
damsels  are  thieves  and  prostitutes;  "North  and 
South,  * '  State  street ;  *  *  Booked, ' '  arrested ;  ' '  City 
College,"  Harrison  Street  Station;  "Consola- 
tion," assassination;  "Dopie,"  a  girl;  "Draw- 
ing," picking  pockets;  "Family  man,"  a  receiver 
of  stolen  goods;  "Gilt-dabber,"  a  hotel  thief; 
"Madge, "private  place;"  Ned, "a  ten  dollar  gold 
piece;  "Plate  of  meat,"  man  with  fat  pocket* 

95 


CHICAGO 

book;  **PoDcess,"  a  woman  who  supports  a  man 
by  her  prostitution,  and  so  on. 

The  professional  thieves  are  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  language,  and  can  speak  to  each  other 
intelligibly,  while  a  bystander  is  in  total  igno- 
rance of  their  meaning. 

The  professional  thieves  are  divided  into  vari- 
ous classes,  the  members  of  which  confine  them- 
selves strictly  to  their  peculiar  line  of  work.  They 
are  classed  by  the  police,  and  by  themselves,  as 
follows:  Burglars,  bank  sneaks,  safe  blowers, 
sneak  thieves,  confidence  men  and  pickpockets. 
A  burglar  will  rarely  attempt  the  part  of  a  sneak 
thief  and  a  pickpocket  will  seldom  undertake 
burglary. 

Bank  Burglars. 

A  burglar  stands  at  the  head  of  the  professional 
class,  and  is  looked  up  to  by  its  members  with  ad- 
miraton  and  respect.  He  disdains  the  title  of 
"thief"  and  boasts  that  his  operations  require 
brains  and  nerve  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 
The  safe  blowers  are  also  classed  by  the  police 
as  burglars,  and  are  acknowledged  by  the  craft 


96 


CHICAGO 

as  confederates.  The  country  banks  and  the  larg- 
er  business  houses  are  their  "Game."  They  dis- 
dain smaller  operations.  When  a  plan  to  rob  a 
bank  has  been  formed,  the  burglar  proper  calls  a 
safe  blower  to  his  aid.  One  man  often  prepare* 
the  way  by  opening  a  small  account  with  the  bank 
and  drawing  out  his  deposits  in  small  amounts. 
He  visits  the  place  at  different  hours  of  the  day, 
learns  the  habits  of  the  bank  officers  and  clerks, 
and  makes  careful  observations  of  the  building 
and  the  safes  in  which  the  money  is  kept.  Fre- 
quently a  room  in  the  basement  of  the  bank  build- 
ing, or  in  an  adjoining  building  is  hired  and  occu- 
pied by  a  confederate.  When  all  is  ready,  a  hole 
is  cut  through  the  jfloor  into  the  bank  room ;  the 
services  of  the  safe  blower  are  called  into  action. 
The  former  takes  charge  of  the  operation  when 
tEe  safe  is  to  be  blown  open.  He  drills  holes  in 
the  door  of  the  safe  by  the  lock  and  fills  them  with 
gunpowder  or  other  explosives,  which  are  ignited 
by  a  fuse.  The  safe  is  carefully  wrapped  in 
blankets  to  smother  the  noise  of  the  explosion, 
and  the  windows  of  the  room  are  lowered  about  an 
inch  from  the  top  to  prevent  the  breaking  of  the 
glass  by  the  concussion  of  the  air.    The  explosion 


97 


emcAGO 

destroys  the  lock,  but  makes  little  noise,  and  the 
door  of  the  safe  is  easily  opened.  "When  it  is 
desirable  not  to  resort  to  an  explosion  the  safe 
blower  makes  the  safe  fast  to  the  floor  by  strong 
iron  clamps,  in  order  that  it  may  bear  the  desired 
amount  of  pressure.  He  then  drills  holes  in  the 
door,  into  which  he  fits  jack  screws  worked  by  lev- 
ers. These  screws  exert  tremendous  force,  and 
soon  burst  the  safe  open.  Sometimes,  when  small 
safes  are  to  be  forced  open  they  use  only  a  jimmy 
and  a  hammer,  wrapping  the  hammer  with  cloth 
to  deaden  the  sound  of  the  blows.  The  safe  once 
opened,  the  contents  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  burg- 
lars. They  never  attack  a  safe  without  having 
some  idea  of  the  booty  to  be  secured,  and  the 
amount  of  risk  to  be  run.  Saturday  night  is  gen- 
erally chosen  for  such  operations.  If  the  work 
cannot  be  finished  in  time  to  allow  the  burglars  to 
escape  before  sunrise  on  Sunday,  they  continue  it 
nntil  successful,  and  boldly  carry  off  their  plunder 
in  broad  daylight. 

The  Bank  Sneak. 

The  bank  sneak  is  simply  a  bond  robber.    He 
•enfines  his  operations  to  stealing  United  States 


98 


CHICAGO 

and  other  bonds,  preferring  coupon  to  registered 
bonds,  as  they  can  be  more  easily  disposed  of. 

He  frequents  a  bank  for  a  long  period,  and  pa- 
tiently observes  the  places  where  the  bonds  and 
securities  are  kept ;  this  he  manages  to  do  without 
suspicion,  and  when  all  is  ripe  for  the  robbery, 
he  boldly  enters  the  bank,  makes  his  way  unob- 
served to  the  safe,  snatches  a  package  of  bonds, 
adding  to  it  a  package  of  notes,  if  possible,  and 
escapes.  If  the  plunder  consists  of  coupon  bonds, 
it  is  easily  disposed  of;  but  registered  bonds  re- 
quire more  careful  handling.  Generally  when 
the  bank  offers  a  reward  for  their  recovery,  the 
thief  enters  into  communication  with  the  detec- 
tive appointed  to  work  up  the  case,  and  com- 
promises with  the  bank  by  restoring  a  part  of 
the  plunder  on  condition  that  he  is  allowed  to 
keep  the  rest  and  escape  punishment. 

Sneak  Thieves. 

The  sneak  thieves  are  the  lowest  in  the  list  of 
professional  robbers.  They  confine  their  opera- 
tions, principally  to  private  dwellings  and  retail 
stores.    They  are  in  constant  danger  of  detection 


99 


CHICAGO 

and  arrest,  and  are  more  often  secured  by  the  po- 
lice than  any  other  classes  we  have  mentioned. 
The  dinner  hour,  which  in  the  winter  is  after 
dark,  is  their  favorite  time  for  entering  houses. 
They  gain  entrance  by  open  doors  or  windows,  or 
by  false  keys,  and  take  everything  within  their 
reach.  A  favorite  practice  of  sneak  thieves  is  to 
call  at  a  house  advertised  for  rent,  and  ask  to 
be  shown  the  rooms.  Another  plan  is  to  visit  the 
offices  of  physicians  and  other  professional  men, 
and  to  steal  articles  of  value  in  the  waiting  rooms 
while  they  are  left  alone.  The  majority  of  those 
who  steal  from  stores  are  women,  who  take  ar- 
ticles from  the  counters,  while  the  clerks  are  bus- 
ily engaged  in  laying  out  goods  for  their  inspec- 
tion. The  practice  of  "shop-lifting"  has  become 
80  common  that  many  of  the  leading  stores  keep 
special  detectives  to  watch  the  customers. 

Confidence  Men. 

Confidence  men  make  use  of  the  credulity  of 
country  people  and  strangers  in  the  city.  A  fav- 
orite plan  is  to  watch  the  hotels,  and  get  the 
names  and  addresses  of  the  guests.    The  method 


100 


CHICAGO 

is  as  follows:  Mr  Smith  comes  to  Chicago,  pnts 
up  at  some  prominent  hotel,  and  after  dinner 
saunters  out  for  a  stroll,  A  confidence  man  who 
has  been  on  the  watch  for  his  appearance,  meets 
him  some  blocks  away  from  the  hotel,  and,  rush- 
ing up  to  him  says,  *  *  Why,  Mr.  Smith,  how  glad  I 
am  to  see  you.  "When  did  you  arrive?  How  did 
you  leave  them  all  in  Smithville?"  Mr.  Smith  is 
taken  by  surprise  at  being  recognized  in  the  great 
city,  and  if  he  is  at  all  credulous,  the  confidence 
man  has  no  trouble  in  making  him  believe  they 
have  met  before.  The  swindler  joins  him  in  his 
stroll  after  a  few  moments  of  conversation,  con- 
fides to  him  that  he  can  draw  a  large  prize  in  a 
lottery  and  invites  him  to  accompany  him  to  the 
lottery  office  and  see  him  receive  the  money.  On 
the  way  they  visit  a  saloon  and  enjoy  a  friendly 
drink  together.  Another  stranger  now  drops  in, 
and  is  introduced  to  Mr.  Smith  by  the  swindler. 
The  newcomer  draws  the  swindler  aside  and  ex- 
changes a  few  words  with  him,  whereupon  the 
latter  tells  Smith  that  he  owes  the  stranger  a  sum 
of  money,  and  has  unfortunately  left  his  pocket- 
book  at  his  office.  He  asks  his  unsuspecting  victim 
to  lend  him  the  amount  until  they  reach  the  lottery 


101 


CHICAGO 

office,  when  he  will  return  it.  Smith  produces  the 
money,  which  is  handed  to  the  newcomer,  who 
then  takes  his  departure,  and  the  friends  resume 
their  stroll  towards  the  lottery  office.  On  the 
way  the  swindler  manages  to  elude  his  victim, 
who  seeks  him  in  vain,  and  goes  back  to  his  hotel 
a  sadder  but  wiser  man.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
this  is  one  of  the  most  successful  tricks  played  in 
the  city.  It  is  often  varied,  but  is  never  attempted 
upon  a  resident  of  the  metropolis. 

Pickpockets  of  Chicago. 

The  pickpockets  of  Chicago  are  very  numerous. 
The  term  pickpocket  is  regarded  by  the  police  as 
including  not  only  those  who  confine  their  efforts 
to  picking  pockets  and  stealing  satchels  and  va- 
lises, but  also  gradations  of  crime  which  approach 
the  higher  degrees  of  larceny  from  the  person, 
and  highway  robbery.  The  members  of  this  class 
of  the  thieving  fraternity  are  well  known  to  the 
police  and  the  detectives  are  kept  busy  watching 
them.  Their  likenesses  are  contained  in  the 
"Rogues  Gallery"  at  police  headquarters,  and  the 
authorities  know  the  thieves  well,  as  their  ca- 


102 


CHICAGO 

reers  embrace  generally,  long  records  of  crime, 
Instances  are  not  rare  in  which  a  whole  family, 
from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest,  is  equally  deep 
in  crime,  the  little  one  having  been  thoroughly 
and  systematically  educated  by  their  parents  in 
the  different  branches  of  stealing,  beginning  with 
the  simple  picking  of  the  pocket  of  some  unwary 
person,  and  finally  becoming  able  to  commit  the 
most  daring  burglaries. 

The  police  endeavor  to  have  all  known  profes- 
soinal  thieves  constantly  under  surveillance,  but 
the  task  is  a  difficult  one.  In  addition  to  constant- 
ly changing  their  places  of  abode,  they  are  in  and 
out  of  the  city  frequently.  Several  saloons  and 
localities,  however,  have  become  notorious  as  re- 
sorts for  pickpockets.  Saloons  on  State  street, 
Wabash  avenue,  "West  Madison  street,  and  Hal- 
sted  street  are  frequented  most  by  this  class  of 
thieves.  Great  dexterity  is  sometimes  acquired 
by  pickpockets.  Acting  in  the  capacity  of  a  news- 
boy they  have  been  known  to  skillfully  extract  a 
watch  from  a  customer's  pocket  while  offering  a 
paper  for  sale. 


103 


BarrisoQ  Street  Police  Station.    Attempted  Suicide. 


The  Police 

A  Night  at  Harrison  Street  Station. 

Though  honest  men  sometimes  do  not  seem  able 
to  put  their  fingers  upon  a  policeman  at  the  in- 
stant they  want  him,  rogues  find  far  oftener  that 
the  policemen  are  on  hand  when  not  wanted. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  police  history,  when  poli- 
tics were  eliminated  from  the  force,  the  ordinary 
policeman  was  more  effective,  and  guarded  the 
"beat"  upon  which  he  traveled  with  a  jealous 
eye.  Wander  where  he  might,  the  ruffian  could 
not  get  away  from  the  law.  This  constant  sur- 
veillance exasperated  bad  characters.  They  chafe 
under  the  restraint,  make  feeble  efforts  to  rebel, 
but  it  is  useless.  The  power  of  the  police  over  the 
evil  circles  of  society  is  enormous;  they  have  a 
mortal  fear  of  the  force.  They  know  that  behind 
that  silver  star  there  resides  indomitable  courage, 
and  in  that  close  buttoned  coat  are  muscles  of 
iron  and  nerves  of  steel. 


105 


CHICAGO 

The  "Boiler  Avenue  Boys"  and  roughs  were  all 
cowards  and  they  knew  it.  They  dare  not  meet 
half  their  weight  in  righteous  pluck. 

I  have  seen  a  great  bully  cringe  and  cry  under 
a  policeman's  open-hand  cuffing.  Very  likely  he 
had  a  bowie-knife,  or  revolver,  or  slung-shot — 
or  all  three  in  one,  as  I  saw  one  night  on  Fourth 
avenue — in  his  pocket  at  the  time,  yet  he  does 
not  attempt  to  use  it  on  the  officer  of  the  law,  the 
occasional  exceptions  to  this  are  rare  and  notable. 
How  many  times  has  a  single  policeman  arrested 
a  man  out  of  a  crowd,  and  not  one  of  his  fellows 
raised  a  finger  to  help  him;  they  dare  not,  they 
have  too  wholesome  respect  for  law,  for  that  re- 
volver in  the  pocket;  most  of  all  they  are  awed 
by  the  cool  courage  of  the  man  who  dares  to  face 
them  on  their  own  ground. 

Yet  in  spite  of  all  this  the  policeman's  life  is 
full  of  danger.  He  must  patrol  streets  which  are 
known  to  be  dangerous,  narrow  alleys,  where  a 
well-delivered  blow  from  a  slung-shot,  a  skill- 
fully aimed  thrust  from  a  knife,  or  a  bullet  from 
a  revolver,  would  make  an  end  of  him  before  he 
could  summon  help.  He  is  an  object  of  hatred, 
as  well  as  of  fear,  to  the  dangerous  classes,  and 


106 


CHICAGO 

they  do  not  hesitate  to  take  advantage  of  him. 
Often  some  brave  fellow  is  set  upon  by  a  gang  of 
toughs  and  beaten  or  wounded.  Yet,  whatever 
danger,  the  policeman  must  face  it  all,  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  force  be  it  said,  he  does  not  shirk. 
Whatever  their  faults  may  be,  cowardice  cannot 
be  charged  against  the  police  of  Chicago. 

I  remember  well  a  tough  basement  saloon  in 
Clark  street ;  it  had  been  growing  worse  and  worse 
and  one  dismal  November  evening,  hearing  a  dis- 
turbance, Captain  Mulligan  and  the  officer  on 
that  post  went  in.  There  were  about  fifty  persons, 
men  and  women,  of  every  color  and  nationality, 
all  of  the  worst  characters,  and  some  notorious  in 
crime.  The  captain  took  in  the  situation  at  a 
glance,  and  determined  without  a  thought  to  ar- 
rest the  whole  party.  Placing  his  back  to  the 
front  door  he  covered  the  back  door  with  his  re- 
volver, and  threatened  death  to  the  first  person 
who  moved.  Then  he  sent  the  patrolman  to  the 
station  for  help,  and  for  fifteen  long  minutes  held 
that  crowd  of  desperadoes  at  bay.  They  glared 
at  him,  squirmed  and  twisted  in  their  places, 
Bcowled  and  gritted  their  clenched  teeth,  and  tried 
to  get  at  their  knives  and  tear  him  to  pieces ;  but 


107 


OHICAGO 

all  the  while  the  stern  mouth  of  that  revolver 
looked  at  them,  and  looked  them  out  of  counte- 
nance, and  the  steady  nerve  behind  it  held  sway 
over  their  brutal  ferocity.  It  was  a  trial  of  nerve 
and  endurance.  Captain  Mulligan  stood  the  test 
and  saved  his  life.  They  could  have  shot  him  a 
hundred  times.  Certainly  it  was  not  because  they 
had  any  scruples  against  it,  for  the  first  two  pris- 
oners sent  to  the  station  killed  Officer  Burns  with 
a  paving  stone  before  they  had  gone  two  blocks. 
Captain  Clare  made  an  almost  precisely  similar 
single-handed  raid  on  the  famous  "Burnt  Rag" 
saloon  in  Boiler  avenue  one  winter  night  in  the 
Seventies. 

Let  us  take  our  seat  beside  Sergeant  Cameron. 
It  is  10  o'clock  and  the  night  cold  and  keen 
without,  but  the  room  is  brightly  lighted,  warm 
and  comfortable.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
early  lodgers  who  have  been  given  quarters,  no 
one  has  put  in  an  appearance,  and  we  begin  to 
wonder  if  it  is  to  be  a  dull  night  after  all.  The 
sergeant  smiles,  and  remarks  that  there  will  be 
business  enough  in  the  next  three  hours. 

The  door  opens  as  he  speaks,  and  a  woman  in 
a  faded  black  dress,  a  battered  bonnet,  and  a 


108 


CHICAGO 

very  dirty  face,  enters,  and  hesitatingly  ap- 
proaches the  desk. 

"Can  I  have  a  night's  lodging,  sir"  she  asks. 

The  sergeant  makes  no  reply  for  a  minute,  but 
gazes  at  her  with  curious  interest,  and  then  asks 
abruptly ;    *  *  When  did  you  wash  your  face  last » ' ' 

*'I  washed  it  in  Bridgeport,  sir,"  she  answered, 
**an'  I  come  from  there  today,  and  never  a  drop 
o'  water  have  I  seen." 

"Give  her  a  lodging,"  says  the  sergeant,  nod- 
ding to  an  officer  standing  by.  "But  see  here," 
he  added  to  the  woman,  "what  are  you  doing  in 
this  district?" 

"Ah!  it's  a  long  story,  sir,"  she  begins.  "It 
was  a  man  that  was  the  cause  of  it,  an'  bad 
luck  to  him.  He  left  me  after  deceivin*  me,  an* 
I've  come  here  to  find  him." 

"How  did  he  deceive  you?" 

"Oh,  the  way  they  always  do.  He  got  the  best 
of  me  because  I  was  innocent,  an'  he  promised  to 
marry  me.  When  he  was  tired  of  me  he  walked 
out,  an'  I've  never  seen  him  since." 

"Where  do  you  expect  to  find  him?" 

"Here  in  this  city ;  I'd  know  his  skin  on  a  bush, 
an' I'U  find  him  or  die." 


109 


CHICAGO 

"Well,  you  had  better  take  a  rest  for  tonight." 
The  woman  goes  off  to  her  hard  bed  in  the 
lodging  room,  and  the  office  is  silent  again;  bnt 
only  for  a  short  while.  The  door  opens  again,  and 
this  time  with  a  crash,  and  an  officer  enters,  with 
a  prisoner  in  his  vice-like  grasp.  The  man's  coat 
is  pulled  over  his  head,  his  hat  is  gone,  the  blood 
is  running  from  his  nose,  and  his  gait  so  unsteady 
that  he  would  certainly  fall  to  the  floor  but  for 
the  firm  hold  of  the  policeman.  His  shirt  front  is 
covered  with  blood  and  beer,  and  his  eyes  are 
bruised  and  bloodshot. 

"Well,  officer,  what  is  it?**  asks  the  sergeant, 
taking  up  his  pen,  as  the  patrolman  drags  hii 
prisoner  to  his  desk. 

"Drunk  and  disorderly,  sir,**  replied  the  patrol- 
man. "Wanted  to  fight  everybody  he  met  on  the 
street.  He  got  pretty  badly  damaged  in  being  put 
out  of  Schlosheimer's  saloon,  and  I  had  to  take 
him  in  charge.** 

"What  is  your  name,  and  where  do  you  live?** 
asked  the  sergeant  of  the  prisoner. 

The  man  gives  his  name  and  address,  in  a  sort 
of  incoherent  manner,  and  is  sent  back  to  a  cell. 


110 


CHICAGO 

while  the  sergeant  jots  down  the  circumstances 
of  his  arrest  in  his  "Blotter." 

The  door  opens  again,  and  a  woman  neatly 
draped  in  mourning,  and  with  a  pale,  sad  face, 
enters  timidly,  and  approaches  the  desk.  In  a  low 
voice  she  asks  the  sergeant  if  he  can  tell  her  of 
any  respectable  place  in  the  neighborhood  where 
she  can  obtain  a  lodging  at  a  moderate  price.  Her 
manner  is  that  of  a  lady,  and  the  sergeant  listens 
with  respect  to  her  request,  and  gives  her  the  ad- 
dress of  such  a  place  as  she  desired.  In  the  same 
low  tone  she  thanks  him,  and  disappears,  and  the 
Btern  face  of  the  officer  of  the  law  for  a  moment 
has  a  troubled  expression. 

The  door  is  thrown  open  violently  once  more, 
and  two  flashily  dressed  women  enter,  and  hurry 
forward  to  the  desk.  Their  faces  are  flushed,  they 
are  greatly  excited,  and  have  evidently  been 
drinking.  They  begin  their  story  together,  talk- 
ing loudly  and  angrily.  They  will  not  stand  it 
any  longer,  they  declare.  Madame  Loraine  owes 
them  money,  and  they  "are  going  to  have  it  or 
raise  h — 1."  The  sergeant,  having  listened  pa- 
tiently; mildly  interposes  with  the  hope  that  notb- 


111 


CHICAGO 

lug  of  the  kind  will  be  raised  in  the  station  house, 
and  then  asks :  , 

"How  much  does  she  owe  you?" 

'  *  Seventy-five  dollars, ' '  they  reply  in  one  voice. 

"And  why  don't  she  pay  you?" 

"Because  she  thinks  by  keeping  herself  in  our 
debt  we  won't  leave  her,"  they  respond  together, 
"and  we  want  a  policeman  to  come  along  and 
make  her  hand  over. ' ' 

The  sergeant  considers  for  a  moment  and  then 
declares  the  matter  does  not  come  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  the  police,  and  that  he  can  do  nothing 
for  them.  They  stare  at  him  in  blank  amazement 
for  a  while,  and  then  flounce  out  of  the  room, 
loudly  cursing  the  whole  police  force,  and  the 
sergeant  in  particular. 

The  next  comer  is  in  charge  of  another  officer. 
He  is  very  dirty  and  wretchedly  drunk.  His  tall 
hat  is  smashed  in,  and  there  is  mud  sticking  in 
his  hair.    He  is  placed  before  the  desk. 

"Drunk  and  disorderly,  sir,"  says  the  patrol- 
man. "I  found  him  trying  to  climb  a  telegraph 
pole  in  front  of  Pottgieser's  saloon.  He  said  he 
always  went  to  his  room  by  way  of  the  fire  escape, 
when  he  came  home  late. '  * 


112 


CHICAGO 

The  prisoner  is  silent,  but  tries  to  listen  to  the 
officer,  and  fixes  upon  the  sergeant  as  solemn  a 
look  as  his  bleared  eyes  will  permit.  He  is  too 
drunk  to  give  his  name,  and  is  sent  to  a  cell,  where 
he  is  soon  in  a  drunken  slumber. 

Toward  midnight,  a  poor  woman,  shabbily 
dressed,  with  a  thin,  well-worn  shawl  around  her 
head  enters,  and  approaches  the  desk. 

"Can  you  tell  me  if  anything  has  been  heard  of 
my  husband  yet?"  she  asks — the  same  question 
she  has  repeated  every  day  for  the  past  week- 

"No,  ma'am,  nothing,"  answers  the  sergeant, 
briefly;  but  his  eyes  as  he  glances  at  the  poor 
sorrowful  creature,  have  a  pitying  look  in  them. 

"What  is  your  husband's  business?" 

"He  was  a  stevedore,  sir," 

"And  you  were  married  to  him  how  long!" 

"Eleven  years  and  over,  sir,  we  had  four  chil- 
dren, all  dead  now  but  the  youngest.  He  was  a 
good  husband  to  me ;  but  he  took  a  drop  too  much 
now  and  then,  and  was  cross  and  noisy.  He  left 
the  house  three  weeks  ago,  and  we  have  never 
geen  him  since." 

"Did  he  leave  you  any  money?" 

"He  left  us  nothing,  sir.    The  child  and  myself 


113 


CHICAGO 

live  on  the  charity  of  neighbors;  but  we  can*t 
expect  to  live  that  way  always. ' ' 

**Well,  I'll  speak  to  the  captain,'*  says  the  ser- 
geant, kindly,  "and  see  what  can  be  done  for  yon, 
and  if  a  dollar  will  do  you  any  good,  here  it  is." 
And  the  good-hearted  sergeant  passes  a  silver 
coin  over  the  desk,  and  sends  the  woman  away 
sobbing  out  her  expression  of  gratitude. 

Loud  voices  are  heard  on  the  station  steps  as 
the  woman  passes  out,  the  door  is  thrown  open, 
and  six  well-dressed  men  enter,  accompanied  by 
two  policeman.  They  approach  the  desk,  talking 
excitedly,  and  charge  and  counter-charges,  mixed 
with  much  slang  and  profanity,  are  brought  be- 
fore the  sergeant,  who  sits  steadily  gazing  at  the 
party,  waiting  for  a  return  of  something  like  or- 
der. There  is  a  lull  in  the  talking,  and  one  of  the 
policemen  states  that  two  of  the  men  have  been 
«igaged  in  a  drunken  assault  at  a  political  prim- 
ary held  in  the  neighborhood,  and  that  the  other 
two  have  come  to  prefer  charges  against  them. 
The  charges  are  made  and  entered  in  the  "Blot- 
tOT,*'  and  the  accused  prefer  counter-charges 
against  the  other  two,  but  as  the  policemen  do  not 
sostain  them,  the  accusers  are  suffered  to  depart, 


114 


CHICAGO 

and  the  accused  are  sent  to  a  cell  where  they 
raise  a  tremendous  racket. 

As  the  officers  are  departing  for  their  beats 
again,  two  more  enter,  this  time  having  in  custody 
two  handsomely  dressed,  fashionable  looking 
youths,  whose  flushed  faces  show  they  have  been 
drinking,  but  not  enough  to  prevent  them  from 
feeling  the  shame  of  their  position. 

** Drunk  and  disorderly,  sir,"  says  the  officer, 
**Knocked  an  old  woman's  peanut  stand  in  the 
street,  knocked  all  her  stuff  into  the  mud  and 
then  tried  to  run  away." 

**But,  sergeant,"  pleads  one  of  the  youths,  '"it 
was  only  for  a  lark,  you  see.  "We  will  make  it  all 
right  in  the  morning  with  the  old  woman." 

**Your  names  and  addresses?"  asks  the  ser- 
geant, coldly. 

They  are  given,  but  are  evidently  fictitious. 

"It  was  only  a  lark,  sergeant,"  begins  the 
young  man  who  spoke  before,  "we  didn't  mean 


"Lock  them  up,"  says  the  sergeant,  cutting 
him  short,  "you  can  state  all  that  to  the  court  in 
the  morning." 

And  they  were  led  away. 


115 


CHICAGO 

The  silence  that  has  fallen  over  the  room  after 
.,he  young  men  have  been  led  out  is  rudely  broken 
by  the  hasty  entrance  of  an  officer  from  the  direc- 
tion of  the  cells.    He  is  pale  and  excited. 

"Sergeant,"  he  exclaims,  "the  woman  in  num- 
ber ten  has  committed  suicide.  She's  hung  her- 
self." 

The  sergeant  springs  up,  tells  the  officer  to 
take  charge  of  the  room,  and  hurries  to  the  cells. 
We  follow  him.  The  door  in  number  ten  is  wide 
open,  and  the  doorman  is  in  the  act  of  cutting 
down  the  woman,  who  has  suspended  herself  by 
the  means  of  a  line  made  of  her  garters.  He 
lays  her  on  the  floor,  in  the  cell,  and  he  and  the 
sergeant  bend  over  and  gaze  into  the  bloated  face. 
The  woman  is  not  dead  and  exhibits  signs  of  re- 
turning life.  Efforts  are  made  to  restore  her,  and 
are  successful.  As  she  recovers  her  consciousness 
she  raises  herself  on  her  elbow,  and  glaring 
around  savagely,  curses  bitterly  the  men  who 
have  saved  her  from  death,  and  begs  for  a  drink 
of  whisky.  No  liquor  is  given  her,  however,  and 
when  the  officers  are  satisfied  she  is  out  of  danger, 
she  is  hand-cuffed,  to  prevent  her  from  attempting 
further  violence.    The  rest  of  the  night  she  keeps 


116 


CHICAGO 

the  place  lively  with  her  yells  and  blasphemous 
cries. 

We  return  to  the  desk  with  the  sergeant,  who 
enters  the  occurrence  in  the  "Blotter."  We  are 
scarcly  seated  when  two  of  the  worst  looking 
tramps  to  be  found  in  Chicago  enter,  and  come  up 
to  the  desk, 

*  *  Cap  'n, ' '  exclaims  one  of  them  in  a  thick  voictt, 
"let's  have  a  shake-down  for  the  night?" 

"All  right,"  says  the  sergeant,  "show  these 
men  back." 

The  tramp  who  has  spoken,  encouraged  by  the 
ready  granting  of  his  request,  says  coolly,  "You 
hain't  got  a  chew  of  tobaccer,  Cap'n,  you  can 
let  a  fellow  have  ? ' ' 

"No,  I  hain't,"  answers  the  sergeant,  imitating 
the  voice  and  expression  of  the  tramp ;  *  *  but  I  '11 
send  you  in  an  oyster  supper  presently,  with  a 
bottle  of  Mum 's  extra  dry,  and  a  bunch  of  Henry 
Clay's;  and  perhaps  some  of  the  delicacies  of  the 
season,  if  they  are  to  be  had." 

The  tramps  laughed  at  this  sally,  and  followed 
the  officer  to  the  lodging  room. 

Half  an  hour  later  four  policemen  enter  the 
room  bearing  a  stretcher,  on  which  is  laid  a  bad^ 


117 


CHICAGO 

wounded  man,  while  two  or  more  lead  in  the  a»- 
sailant,  who  is  securely  hand-cuffed,  and  bears  the 
marks  of  the  officers '  clubs.  He  had  assaulted  and 
stabbed  the  wounded  man  in  a  brawl  in  a  saloon 
on  Fourth  avenue;  had  resisted  the  officers  who 
attempted  to  arrest  him,  and  had  proved  so  dan- 
gerous that  they  had  been  compelled  to  club  and 
hand-cuff  him.  The  wounded  man  is  sent  to  a  hos- 
pital in  an  ambulance  and  the  statements  he  made 
are  recorded  in  the  "Blotter"  by  the  sergeant. 
The  name  and  address  of  the  prisoner  is  also  writ- 
ten down,  and  he  is  sent  to  a  cell,  with  the  irons 
still  on  him. 

Shortly  after  2  o'clock  another  detachment  of 
officers  bring  in  a  batch  of  about  twenty  prison- 
ers,  male  and  female.  They  are  dressed  in  all 
manners  of  costumes.  Here  are  dukes,  Don 
Caesars,  Hamlets,  Little  Buttercups,  Indians, 
Princesses  and  Warriors  and  the  like.  They  have 
been  to  a  "fancy  ball, "and  left  it  so  drunk  that 
they  fell  to  fighting  among  themselves  in  the  street 
and  were  taken  in  custody  by  the  officials.  They 
are  a  motley  lot  indeed  and  lent  a  strange  aspect 
to  the  station.  They  appear  to  feel  the  ludi(;rou8- 
ness  of  their  position,  and  beg  to  be  let  off;  bat 


118 


CHICAGO 

the  sergeant  has  no  discretion,  for  the  testimony 
of  the  officials  is  positive  and  the  charge  is  a  seri- 
ous one.  So  they  go  back  to  the  cells,  and  in  the 
morning  will  appear  in  full  costume  before  the 
Court  to  answer  to  the  charge  against  them. 

So  the  hours  of  darkness  pass  away,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  night  is  only  a  repetition  of 
many  scenes  we  have  described. 


aiB 


CO 


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§ 


The  Lost  Sisterhood 

Prevalence  of  Prostitution  in  Chicago. 

Prostitution  is  an  appalling  evil  in  Chicago. 
One  can  scarcely  look  in  any  direction  without 
seeing  some  evidence  of  it.  Street  walkers  parade 
the  most  prominent  thoroughfares,  dance  houses 
and  low  concert  halls  flaunt  their  gaudy  signs  in 
public,  and  houses  of  ill-fame  are  conducted  with 
a  boldness  unequalled  anywhere  in  the  world. 
The  evil  is  very  great,  and  is  assuming  larger  pro- 
portions every  year,  and  I  now  make  the  startling 
assertion,  that  the  prostitutes  of  Chicago  are  as 
numerous  as  the  members  of  the  largest  denomina- 
tion of  the  city.  From  the  most  reliable  informa- 
tion obtainable  there  are  about  six  hundred  houses 
of  prostitution  and  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
assignation  houses  in  Chicago.  The  number  of 
women  known  as  prostitutes,  and  those  who  '^^  re- 
ceive" privately,  and  associate  with  women  whose 


121 


CHICAGO 

character  is  beyond  reproach,  is  astounding.  Of 
the  number  of  women  who  resort  to  prostitution 
as  a  means  of  securing  money,  or  from  other  mo- 
tives, who  yet  manage  to  maintain  positions  of  re- 
spectability in  society,  of  course  no  estimate  can 
be  made.  They  are,  unfortunately,  very  numer- 
ous, and  are  said  by  persons  in  position  to  speak 
with  some  degree  of  accuracy  to  equal  the  pro- 
fessionals in  numbers. 

These  things  are  sad  to  contemplate  and  disa- 
greeable to  write  about.  The  whole  subject  is 
unsavory;  but  no  picture  of  Chicago  would  be 
complete  did  it  not  include  an  account  of  this  ter- 
rible feature  of  city  life,  which  meets  the  visitor 
at  almost  every  turn ;  and  it  is  believed  that  some 
good  may  be  accomplished  by  stripping  the  sub- 
ject of  all  its  romance,  and  presenting  it  to  the 
reader  in  its  true  and  hideous  colors. 

The  professional  women  of  Chicago  represent 
every  grade  of  their  wretched  life,  from  the  hells 
of  the  fashionable  houses  of  ill-fame  to  the  slowly 
dying  inmates  of  a  Dearborn  street  brothel.  They 
begin  their  career  with  the  hope  that  they  will 
always  remain  in  the  class  into  which  they  enter, 
but  find,  when  it  is  too  late,  they  must  go  steadilj 


122 


CHICAGO 

down  into  the  depths,  closing  their  lives  with  ft 
horrible  death  and  a  pauper's  grave. 

The  so-called  first-calss  houses  of  Chicago  are 
conducted  with  more  or  less  secrecy.  It  is  the 
object  of  the  proprietress  to  remain  unknown 
to  the  police  as  long  as  possible,  but  she  finds 
at  last  that  this  is  impracticable.  The  sharp-eyed 
patrolmen  soon  discover  suspicious  signs  about 
the  house  and  watch  it  until  their  suspicions  are 
verified,  when  the  establishment  is  recorded  as  a 
house  of  ill-fame,  and  placed  under  police  surveil- 
lance. These  houses  are  not  numerous,  however, 
and  not  more  than  thirty  in  the  entire  city.  Large 
rents  are  paid  for  them,  and  they  are  generally 
hired  furnished.  They  are  located  in  some  quiet, 
respectable  portion  of  the  city,  and  outwardly 
appear  to  be  simply  private  dwellings.  It  often 
happens  that  the  neighbors  are  in  ignorance  of  the 
true  character  of  the  house,  long  after  it  is  known 
to  the  police.  It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  some  of 
our  finest  avenues  and  boulevards  are  infected 
with  the  infamous  "houses."  The  proprietress 
is  a  woman  of  respectable  appearance,  and  passes 
as  a  married  woman,  some  man  generally  living 
with  her,  and  passing  as  her  husband.    This  en- 


123 


CHICAGO 

ables  her  in  case  of  trouble  with  the  authorities, 
to  show  a  legal  protector  and  insist  upon  her 
claim  to  be  a  married  woman. 

The  inmates  are  women  in  the  first  flush  of  their 
charms.  They  are  handsome,  well  dressed,  gen- 
erally refined  in  manner,  and  conduct  themselves 
with  outward  propriety;  rude  and  boistrous  con- 
duct, improper  language,  and  indecent  behavior 
are  forbidden  in  the  parlors  of  the  house,  and  a 
casual  visitor  passing  through  public  rooms  of  the 
place  would  see  nothing  out  of  the  usual  way. 

It  is  difficult  to  learn  the  causes  which  induce 
these  women  to  adopt  a  life  of  shame.  No  reliance 
whatever  can  be  placed  upon  the  stories  they  tell 
of  themselves.  It  cannot  be  doubted,  however, 
that  they  are  generally  of  respectable  origin,  and 
some  of  them  are  otherwise  fitted  to  adorn  the 
best  circles  of  society.  Some  are  young  women 
who  have  been  led  astray  by  men  who  have  failed 
to  keep  their  promises  to  them,  and  have  drifted 
into  sin  to  hide  their  shame,  others  are  wives  who 
have  left,  or  have  been  deserted  by  their  husbands ; 
others  still  have  deliberately  chosen  the  life,  grati- 
fying their  love  for  money  and  dress;  and  others 
again  appear  to  be  influenced  by  motives  of  pure 


124 


OHIOAGO 

licentiousness.  Whatever  the  cause  of  adoption 
of  such  a  life,  it  is  evident  they  have  seen  bet- 
ter days.  They  are  still  fresh  and  attractive,  and 
for  a  while  pursue  their  gilded  career  of  sin  and 
shame,  hoping  that  they  may  be  fortunate  enough 
to  retain  their  place  in  the  aristocracy  of  vice. 
The  proprietress  wiU  have  no  others  than  attrac- 
tive women  in  her  house;  and  as  soon  as  the  in- 
mates begin  to  show  signs  of  the  wretched  life 
they  lead,  as  soon  as  sickness  falls  upon  them,  or 
they  lose  their  beauty  and  freshness,  she  sends 
them  away,  and  fills  their  places  with  more  at- 
tractive women.  She  has  no  difficulty  in  doing 
this,  for  she  has  her  agents  on  the  watch  for  them 
all  the  time,  and  unfortunately  new  women  are 
always  soliciting  admission  to  such  places.  Be- 
sides this,  the  proprietress  knows  that  her  patrons 
soon  grow  tired  of  seeing  the  same  women  in  her 
establishment.  She  must  make  frequent  changes 
to  satisfy  them,  and  she  has  no  scruples  about 
turning  a  woman  out  of  her  doors  to  begin  the 
descent  of  the  ladder  of  shame.  Therefore,  about 
one  or  two  years  is  the  average  term  of  the  stay 
of  a  woman  in  a  fashionable  house.  A  few  do  re- 
main longer,  but  the  number  is  so  small  as  to 


125 


CHICAGO 

etmstitute  scarcely  an  exception  to  the  general 
rule.  As  long  as  her  "boarders"  remain  with  her, 
the  proprietress  treats  them  fairly  enough,  apart 
from  the  fact  that  she  manages  to  get  out  of  them 
all  the  money  she  can.  The  women  earn  large 
amounts  of  money,  but  a  considerable  portion  of 
this  goes  for  board  and  other  expenses  in  the 
house,  and  their  extravagant  habits  and  tastea 
exhaust  the  rest.  They  save  nothing,  and  if  taken 
sick  must  go  to  the  Charity  Hospital  for  treat- 
ment. Their  dream  of  saving  money  lasts  but  a 
short  time,  and  they  leave  the  fashionable  houses 
penniless. 

The  visitors  to  these  houses  are  men  of  means. 
No  one  without  a  full  pocket  can  afford  such  ii> 
dulgence.  Visitors  are  expected  to  spend  consid- 
erable money  for  wine,  which  is  always  furnished 
by  the  proprietress  at  the  most  exhorbitant  prices, 
and  at  a  profit  of  about  200  per  cent.  A  large 
part  of  her  revenue  is  derived  from  such  sales, 
and  she  looks  sharply  after  this  branch  of  the 
business.  The  sharaelessness  with  which  men  of 
standing  and  prominence,  many  of  whom  are 
fathers  of  familes,  resort  to  these  houses  and 
display  themselves  in  the  parlors  is  astounding. 


126 


CHICAGO 

Indeed,  the  keeper  of  one  of  the  most  fashionable 
houses  boasts  that  married  men  are  her  principal 
customers.  Sometimes  the  visitor  desires  that  his 
visits  shall  not  be  known.  For  such  persons  there 
are  private  rooms,  where  they  are  sure  of  seeing 
no  one  but  the  proprietress  and  the  woman  for 
whom  their  visit  is  intended.  These  houses  are 
largely  attended  by  strangers  visiting  Chicago; 
these,  thinking  themselves  unknown  in  a  large 
city,  care  little  for  privacy,  and  boldly  show  them- 
selves in  the  general  parlors.  The  proportion  of 
married  and  middle-aged  men  among  them  is  very 
great.  You  will  find  among  them  lawyers,  physi- 
cians, judges  of  the  courts,  members  of  congress, 
and  even  ministers  of  the  gospel,  from  all  parti 
of  the  country.  This  may  seem  a  startling  asser- 
tion, but  the  police  authorities  will  confirm  it.  If 
the  secrets  of  these  places  as  regards  their  visi- 
tors could  be  made  public  there  would  be  a  ter- 
rible rupture  in  many  happy  families  throughout 
the  land,  as  well  as  in  the  metropolis.  Men  who 
at  home  are  models  of  propriety,  seem  to  lose  all 
sense  of  restraint  when  they  come  to  Chicago. 
These  same  gentlemen  would  be  merciless  towards 


127 


CHICAGO 

any  female  member  of  their  famdlies  who  should 
display  a  similar  laxity. 

To  return  to  the  women:  the  inmates  of  the 
first-class  houses  rarely  remain  in  them  for  more 
than  two  years.  Their  shameful  and  dissipated 
lives  render  them  by  this  time  unfit  for  compan- 
ionship with  their  aristocratic  associates.  The  pro- 
prietress quickly  detects  this  and  remorselessly 
orders  them  from  her  house.  She  knows  the  fate 
that  awaits  them;  but  her  only  care  is  to  keep 
her  house  full  of  fresh  and  attractive  women. 

The  Next  Step. 

Having  quitted  the  fashionable  house,  the 
wretched  woman  has  no  recourse  but  to  enter  a 
second-class  house,  and  then  go  down  one  grade 
lower  in  vice.  The  proprietress  is  cruel  and  exact- 
ing, and  boldly  robs  her  boarders  whenever  oc- 
casion offers.  The  visitors  are  more  numerous, 
but  are  a  rougher  and  coarser  set  than  those  who 
patronized  her  in  the  first  stages  of  her  career. 
Money  is  less  plentiful,  her  life  is  harder  in  every 
way,  and  she  seeks  relief  from  the  reflections  that 
will  crowd  upon  her  in  drink,  and  perhaps  to 


128 


CHICAGO 

drunkenness  adds  the  vice  of  opium.  Her  health 
breaks  fast,  what  was  left  of  her  beauty  when  she 
entered  the  house  soon  fades,  and  in  two  or  three 
years  she  becomes  unfit  to  even  remain  in  a  sec- 
ond-class house.  She  is  turned  into  the  street  by 
the  proprietress,  who  generally  robs  her  of  her 
money  and  jewelry,  and  sometimes  even  of  her 
eiothing,  save  what  she  has  on  at  the  time.  The 
wretches  who  keep  these  houses  do  not  hesitate 
to  detain  a  woman's  trunk,  or  other  effects,  upon 
eome  trumped-up  charge  of  arrears  or  debt,  when 
they  have  no  longer  any  use  for  her.  The  poor 
creature  has  no  redress,  and  is  obliged  to  submit 
in  silence  to  any  wrong  practiced  upon  her. 

The  woman  whose  career  opened  so  brilliantly 
is  now  a  confirmed  prostitute  and  drunkard, 
bloated,  sickly  and  perhaps  diseased ;  she  is  with- 
out hope,  and  there  is  nothing  left.  It  is  only  four 
or  five  years,  perhaps  less,  since  she  entered  the 
fashionable  boulevard  mansion,  beautiful  and  at- 
tractive in  all  the  freshness  of  her  charms,  and 
little  dreaming  of  the  fate  in  store  for  her.  She 
is  not  an  exception  to  the  rule,  however.  She  hag 
but  followed  the  usual  road,  and  met  the  inevita- 
ble doom  of  her  class. 


129 


CHICAGO 

Going  Down  Into  the  Depths. 

From  the  second-class  house  the  lost  woman 
passes  into  one  of  the  bagnios  of  the  "led-light 
district"  or  some  similar  place.  Here  her  lot  is 
infinitely  more  wretched.  Her  companions  are  the 
vilest  of  her  class,  and  the  visitors  are  among  the 
lowest  order  of  men  who  cannot  gain  admittance 
into  places  such  as  she  has  left.  She  finds  herself 
a  slave  to  the  keeper  of  the  house,  who  is  often  a 
burly  ruffian,  and  even  more  brutal  than  a  woman 
would  be  in  the  same  position.  She  is  robbed  of 
her  earnings,  is  beaten,  and  often  falls  into  the 
hands  of  the  police.  She  becomes  familiar  with 
the  courts,  the  bridewell,  and  whatever  of  woman- 
ly feeling  remained  to  her  is  crushed  out  of  her. 
She  is  a  brute  simply.  She  remains  in  Green,  Peo- 
ria or  some  other  like  street  for  a  year  or  two — 
human  nature  cannot  bear  up  longer  under  such  a 
life — and  is  then  unfit  to  remain  even  there.  Would 
you  seek  her  after  this  you  will  find  her  in  the 
terrible  dens  and  living  hells — even  in  places  of 
infamy  and  degredation  that  a  former  Mayor  was 
compelled  to  stamp  out,  so  utterly  repugnant  was 
it  to  even  the  lowest  instincts  of  man.     To  the 


130 


CHICAGO 

burning  disgrace  of  Chicago,  some  of  these  pes- 
tiferous vice-breeding  places  are  allowed  to  exist 
by  the  "stink-pots"  who  govern  the  city.  These 
poor,  vile,  repulsive  women,  slowly  dying  from 
their  bodily  ailments,  and  the  effects  of  drink  and 
drugs,  have  reached  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  and 
can  go  no  lower.  She  knows  it,  and  in  a  sort  of 
dumbly,  desperate  way,  is  glad  it  is  so.  Life  is 
such  a  daily  torture  to  her,  that  death  only  offers 
her  any  relief.  She  is  really  a  living  corpse.  The 
end  soon  comes.  Some  die  from  the  effects  of 
their  terrible  lives,  and  oh!  such  fearful  deaths; 
and  others  are  killed  or  fatally  injured  in  drunken 
brawls  which  so  often  occur  in  this  locality ;  and 
others  still  seek  an  end  of  their  miserable  exist- 
Mice  in  the  dark  waters  of  Lake  Michigan, 

I  draw  no  exaggerated  picture  of  the  gradual 
but  inevitable  descent  of  a  fallen  woman  in  Chi- 
cago. Every  detail  is  true  to  life.  Seven  years 
is  the  average  life  of  an  abandoned  woman  in  the 
great  city.  She  may  begin  her  career  with  all  the 
eclat  possible,  she  may  queen  it  by  nature  of  her 
beauty  and  charms  in  some  fashionable  house,  at 
the  beginning,  and  may  even  outlast  the  average 
term  at  such  places;  it  matters  not;  her  doom  is 


131 


CHICAGO 

certain.  The  time  will  come  when  she  must  leave 
the  aristocracy  of  shame,  must  take  the  second 
step  in  her  terrible  career.  Seven  years  for  the 
majority  of  these  women,  then  death  in  its  most 
horrible  form.  Some  may,  and  do,  anticipate  the 
end  of  it  by  suicide ;  few  ever  escape  from  it. 

**The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  Some  cherish  the 
hope  that  after  a  few  years  of  pleasure,  they  will 
reform ;  but  alas,  they  find  it  impossible  to  do  so. 
A  few,  a  very  few,  do  escape,  through  the  aid  ex- 
tended to  them  by  the  "missions,"  but  they  are  so 
few  that  they  but  help  to  emphasize  the  hopeless- 
ness of  the  effort.  The  doom  of  the  fallen  woman 
is  swift  and  sure!  "The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
Once  entered  upon  a  career  of  shame,  the  whole 
world  sets  its  face  against  her.  Even  the  men  who 
associated  with  her  in  her  palmy  days  would  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  her  appeals  for  aid  after  she  has 
gone  down  into  the  depths.  I  would  to  God  that 
the  women  who  are  about  to  enter  upon  this  terri- 
ble life  couM  walk  through  the  purlieu  of  the 
"red-light"  district  and  witness  the  sights  that  I 
have  seen  there.  I  would  they  could  see  the 
awful,  despairing  faces  that  look  out  from  the 


132 


CHICAQO 

bagnios  of  that  terrible  nieghborhood,  and  realize 
that,  however  brilliant  the  opening  of  their  careoj 
may  be,  this  must  be  the  end  of  it.  It  is  idle  for 
them  to  hope  to  escape  the  doom  of  the  fallen 
woman.  "The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  Would 
anyone  know  what  sort  of  death?  Let  her  come 
to  Chicago  and  see. 

Many  of  the  women  of  the  town  never  pass 
through  the  various  gradations  of  vice  that  I  have 
described. 

Many  never  see  the  inside  of  a  fashionable  house 
of  ill-fame,  but  begin  lower  down  the  scale,  as 
inmates  of  second-class  houses,  as  waiter  girls  in 
concert  saloons,  as  inmates  of  dance  houses — 
which  were  so  prevalent  in  Chicago  years  ago — 
or  as  street  walkers.  These  meet  their  inevitable 
doom  all  the  more  quickly,  but  not  less  surely. 

The  city  is  full  of  people,  men  and  women, 
whose  object  is  to  lead  young  girls  into  lives  of 
shame.  They  watch  the  hotels,  depots  and  large 
stores  and  lure  respectable  girls  away  on  various 
pretexts.  Every  inducement  is  held  out  to  work- 
ing girls  and  women  to  adopt  the  vile  trade,  and 
many  fall  willing  victims.  Hundreds  of  these 
women  are  from  rural  districts  of  adjoining  states. 


133 


ORIOAGO 

Tbey  come  to  the  city  seeking  work  and  are  some- 
times successful.  Often,  however,  they  can  find 
nothing  to  do,  and  when  poverty  and  want  stare 
them  in  the  face,  they  listen  to  the  voice  of  the 
tempter,  become  street  walkers  or  inmates  of 
houses  of  ill-fame.  Sometimes,  while  they  are  in 
the  first  days  of  their  success,  they  will  write 
home  that  they  are  pursuing  honest  callings  in  the 
city  and  earning  respectable  livings,  and  will  even 
send  money  home  to  their  deluded  parents.  After 
a  while  the  letters  cease — ^the  writer  has  gone 
into  the  depths ;  they  are  lost ! 

It  is,  indeed,  strange  to  see  how  these  women 
will  cherish  the  memory  of  their  homes  even  in 
the  midst  of  their  shame.  They  will  speak  at  the 
pleasant  home,  or  their  aged  father  and  mother, 
in  accents  full  of  despair.  Often  these  memories 
will  cause  them  to  burst  into  uncontrollable  weep- 
ing. If  one  should  try  to  take  advantage  of  this 
moment  of  tenderness,  and  urge  them  to  make  an 
effort  to  reform,  they  are  met  with  but  one  an- 
swer:   **It  is  too  late." 

The  keepers  of  the  bagnios  of  the  city  use  every 
means  to  lure  young  women  into  theii-  power. 
Some  years  since,  a  girl  who  L&C  i^anaged  to 


134 


CHICAGO 

escape  from  a  notorious  brothel,  told  the  follow- 
ing story : 

"I  watched  the  advertisements  in  the  papers  to 
see  something  that  would  suit  me.    I  learned  that 

a  Mrs.  G of street  wanted  two  girls  to  do 

light  chamber  work,  and  I  hastened  there,  with  a 
friend,  in  quest  of  the  position.    We  were  received 

by  Mrs.  G ,  who  began  to  explain  to  us  the 

nature  of  the  duties  we  were  expected  to  perform. 
It  was  an  awful  proposition.  She  kept  a  house  of 
ill-fame.  We  fled.  I  was  much  discouraged.  Not 
so  my  friend,  who  told  me  there  was  another  lady 
down  the  street,  who  was  really  in  want  of  a  girl 
to  help  her.  We  went  to  her  house.  It  was  an- 
other of  the  same  sort ;  but  after  I  got  in  there  my 
clothes  were  taken  from  me,  and  the  woman  fur- 
nished me  with  some  sort  of  silk,  trimmed  with 
fur,  and  tried  to  make  me  act  like  the  other  girls 
in  her  establishment.  I  remained  there  from  Sat- 
urday to  Wednesday  night,  because  I  could  not 
get  away.  I  had  no  clothes  to  wear  in  the  streets, 
even  if  I  should  succeed  in  reaching  them,  which 
was  impossible,  and  the  woman  who  kept  the 
house  was  angry  with  me,  brutally  so,  because  I 
would  not  comply  with  her  wishes.    I  and  another 


135 


CHICAGO 

young  girl  tried  to  escape  by  the  back  yard.  The 
other  girl  got  away,  but  I  was  discovered  by  the 
keeper,  who  drove  me  back  into  the  house  with 
curses.  On  Wednesday  evening  I  was  made  to  sit 
at  a  window  and  call  a  man,  who  was  passing,  into 
the  house.  He  turned  out  to  be  a  detective,  and 
arrested  me,  and  was  the  means  of  my  freedom ! ' ' 

The  police  are  often  called  upon  by  relatives 
of  abandoned  women  to  assist  them  in  finding 
them  and  rescuing  them  from  their  lives  of  shame. 
Sometimes,  in  the  cases  of  very  young  girls,  these 
efforts  are  successful,  and  the  poor  creature  gladly 
goes  with  friends.  Others  again  refuse  to  leave 
their  wretched  haunts;  they  prefer  to  lead  their 
lives  of  infamy. 

One  night  a  young  man  called  at  the  "Apollo," 
a  theatre  and  dance  house  on  Third  Avenue — now 
Plymouth  Place — and  inquired  for  his  sister  Dora, 
who,  he  had  learned,  was  in  that  place.  The 
young  lady  came  out,  while  he  was  speaking,  in 
company  with  a  well-dressed  man.  Instead  of 
complying  with  her  brother's  entreaties,  she  en- 
tered a  carriage,  with  her  escort,  and  drove  to  a 
nearby  police  station  to  seek  relief  from  her 
brother's  importunities.     The  brother  followed. 


136 


CHICAGO 

told  the  sergeant  the  story  of  his  sister's  shame, 
and  asked  him  to  keep  her  there  until  he  could 
summon  the  father.  The  sergeant  complied  with 
the  request  and  the  father  soon  appeared.  He  was 
a  respectable  oil  manufacturer  and  had  lavished 
wealth  and  fine  dress  upon  the  wayward  child. 
He  confirmed  his  son's  statements,  and  appealed 
to  his  daughter  to  go  home  with  him.  She  an- 
swered him  flippantly,  and  the  indignant  father 
cursed  her  for  her  sin,  and  would  have  attacked 
the  man  with  her  had  not  oflScers  prevented  him. 
The  woman  was  locked  up  for  the  night  in  the 
station  house,  and  brought  before  court  the  next 
morning.  The  father  urged  that  she  should  be 
sent  to  some  reformatory  establishment,  but  the 
woman  met  him  with  the  statement  that  she  was 
twenty-three  years  old,  beyond  legal  control,  and 
therefore  entitled  to  choose  her  own  mode  of  life. 
Her  plea  was  valid,  and  the  magistrate  was  un- 
willingly compelled  to  discharge  her  from  custody, 
though  he  endeavored  to  persuade  her  to  return  to 
her  family.  She  then  left  the  court  room,  was 
joined  by  several  flashily-dressed  women,  and 
departed  in  high  spirits,  completely  ignoring  her 
relatives. 


137 


CHICAGO 

One  of  the  worst  classes  of  abandoned  women 
consists  of  street  walkers.  On  any  of  the  business 
streets  and  even  in  outlying  districts  these  wom- 
en are  very  numerous.  They  are  generally  well 
dressed,  and,  as  a  rule,  are  young.  They  pursue 
certain  regular  routes,  rarely  pausing,  unless  they 
** pick-up"  a  companion,  when  they  dart  off  with 
him  to  some  side  street.  On  the  brilliantly  lighted 
thoroughfares  the  police  do  not  allow  them  to 
stop  and  accost  men,  but  they  manage  to  do  so. 
The  neighobrhoods  of  the  "hotels"  and  the  places 
of  "amusement"  are  their  principal  cruising 
grounds,  and  their  victims  are  mainly  strangers 
to  the  city.  Many  of  them  have  regular  employ- 
ment during  the  day,  and  ply  their  wretched  trade 
at  night  to  increase  their  gains.  They  accompany 
their  victims  to  the  "bed-houses"  which  are  con- 
veniently at  hand,  and  if  an  opportunity  occurs 
will  rob  him.  They  frequent  the  dance  halls  and 
concert  saloons ;  in  fact,  every  place  to  which  they 
can  obtain  admission,  ard  lure  men  into  their  com- 
pany. As  a  rule  they  are  vicious  in  the  extreme, 
drink  heavily,  and  in  some  cases  are  fearfully 
diseased. 

xn  former  years  many  of  the  street  walken 


138 


0HICA60 

were  in  the  regular  employ  of  the  "panel-houses,** 
which  were  numerous  at  that  time.  These  houses 
were  kept  by  men,  who  were  among  the  most 
desparate  roughs  in  Chicago.  The  woman  is  either 
mistress  of  one  of  these  men,  or  in  his  pay.  The 
method  pursued  was  as  follows :  The  street  walker 
secures  her  victim  on  the  street,  or  at  some  con- 
cert hall,  or  dance-house.  He  is  generally  a 
stranger,  and  ignorant  of  the  localities  of  the  city. 
She  takes  him  to  her  room,  which  is  an  apartment 
provided  with  a  partition  in  which  there  is  a  slid- 
ing door  or  panel.  The  confederate  of  the  woman 
is  connealed  behind  the  partition,  and  at  a  favor- 
able moment  slides  back  the  panel,  enters  the 
room  and  strips  the  clothing  of  the  victim  of  the 
money  and  valuables  contained  in  it.  If  discov- 
ered, the  panel  thief  endeavors  to  disable  the 
victim.  The  latter  is  no  match  for  his  assailant, 
and  is  from  the  first  at  a  disadvantage.  The  thief 
is  desperate,  and  is  generally  armed.  He  does 
not  hesitate  at  anything,  and,  if  necessary,  will 
murder  the  victim,  the  woman  assisting  him  in 
the  fearful  work.  Then  the  body  is  left  until 
near  morning,  when  it  is  placed  in  a  wagon  en- 
gaged by  the  thief,  carried  to  the  river  or  laksii 


CHICAQO 

and  then  thrown  into  the  water.  Gei?«rally  the 
robbery  is  accomplished  without  the  necessity  of 
resorting  to  violence.  The  victim  either  puts  up 
with  his  loss  in  silence,  or  reports  it  to  the  police. 
The  records  at  headquarters  contain  reports  of 
numerous  robberies  of  this  kind.  So  the  evil  went 
on.  Strangers  in  this  city  incur  terrible  risk  in 
accompanying  street  walkers,  and  women  whom 
they  meet  on  the  street,  at  concert  and  dance 
halls  to  their  homes.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten, 
robbery  is  certain.  Murder  is  too  often  the  re- 
sult of  such  adventure.  Truly,  Solomon  was  wise 
indeed  when  he  wrote:  **He  hath  taken  a  bag  of 
money  with  him — with  her  much  fair  speech  she 
caused  him  to  yield,  with  flattering  of  her  lips  she 
forced  him — he  goeth  after  her  straightway,  as 
an  ox  goeth  to  the  slaughter,  or  as  a  fool  to  the 
correction  of  the  stocks ;  till  a  dart  strike  through 
his  liver;  as  a  bird  hastened  to  the  snare,  and 
knoweth  not  it  is  for  his  life — her  house  is  the  way 
to  hell  going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death.*' 


140 


Chicago's  Crowning  Curse 

The  curse  of  Chicago  is  the  vile,  repugnant 
saloon.  No  one  can  realize  the  picture  of  its  rot- 
tenness all  at  once ;  everything  is  deceptive  about 
it,  and  it  takes  time  to  grasp  the  magnitude  of 
this  hydra-headed  monster.  But  by  degrees  the 
immensity  and  appalling  environments  assert 
themselves,  and  the  beholder,  while  visiting  these 
pest  holes,  feels  and  knows  that  he  is  in  close 
proximity  to  the  devil.  The  very  atmosphere 
seems  laden  with  his  satanic  majesty's  presence, 
which  permeates  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
iniquitous  place.  Here,  above  all  other  places,  the 
devil's  work  is  supreme.  Awful,  indeed,  is  the 
anguish  of  the  mother  as  she  looks  upon  the  face 
of  her  ruined  son  or  daughter. 

Oh!  Chicago!  big,  bustling  Chicago!  Storms 
and  tempests  may  rage  around,  and  the  sun*8 
fierce  rays  descend  upon  your  brow ;  you  may  be 
victorious  in  commercial  conflict,  but  sink  into  in- 


141 


CHICAGO 

significance  when  facing  the  greatest  of  eoeial 
ervils. 

There  are,  however,  no  rivals  among  these  dan- 
gerous dives,  which  stand  out  like  projecting 
rocks  as  pitfalls  for  the  weak. 

There  are  about  7,000  saloons  in  Chicago.  At 
each  of  these  places  liquors  are  sold  by  the  single 
glass  or  drink.  They  represent  every  grade  of 
drinking  establishments,  from  the  magnificent 
Buffet  to  the  "Barrel-houses."  All  these  places 
enjoy  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  prosperity,  and 
the  proprietors  grow  rich,  unless  they  cut  short 
their  lives  by  becoming  their  own  best  customers. 
For  alcoholic  and  malt  liquors  served  over  the  bar 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  are  spent  daily. 
It  is  estimated  that  in  the  vicinity  of  the  board  of 
trade  7,500  drinks  are  disposed  of  every  day.  The 
"bulls  and  bears"  require  heavy  stimulants  to 
keep  them  up  to  their  exciting  work,  and  their 
daily  expenditure  for  such  purposes  is  about 
$2,500.  Probably  this  may  account  for  some  of 
the  queer  scenes  to  be  witnessed  in  the  pit. 

The  quantity  of  beer  consumed  in  the  city  is 
about  twelve  times  that  of  whisky,  and  is  the 
most  common  of  the  alcoholic  drinks.    The  tru©' 


142 


CHICAGO 

blooded  German  beer  drinker  will  consume  from 
one  to  two  dozen  glasses  of  his  favorite  beverage 
in  twenty-four  hours  and  his  American  and  other 
imitators  follow  closely  in  his  footsteps. 

A  popular  bar  will  take  in  $200  to  $400  a  day, 
but  the  majority  of  the  liquor  dealers  are  content 
with  from  $30  to  $50  a  day.  Some  of  these  places 
remain  open  all  night,  and  are  filled  with  dram 
drinkers  at  all  hours.  At  the  first-class  establish- 
ments the  liquors  sold  are  of  good  quality,  but 
as  the  scale  is  descended  the  quality  of  the  drinks 
fall  off,  until  the  low-class  bar-rooms  are  reached 
in  which  the  most  poisonous  compounds  are  sold, 
under  the  name  of  whisky,  brandy,  gin  and  rum. 

The  American  saloon  is  the  curse  of  the  nation. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  and  women  are 
being  ruined  annually,  and  our  government,  it 
seems,  is  powerless  to  curb  the  destroying  monster. 

There  are  over  1400  girls  in  the  training  school 
for  girls,  and  with  few  exceptions  they  have  been 
children  of  an  alcoholic  inheritance.  Are  they  to 
be  blamed  for  the  circumstances  surrounding  their 
young  lives?  Not  at  all.  The  whole  blame  lies 
at  the  door  of  those  who  have  voted  to  license  the 
saloon  which  has  made  it  possible  for  the  parents 


143 


CHICAGO 

to  60  poison  their  physical  being  that  it  is  not  poch 
•ible  for  them  to  bring  into  the  world  normal 
children  with  the  powers  that  would  enable  them 
to  cope  with  the  world- 

The  number  of  moral  imbeciles  that  are  in  the 
state  institutions  is  simply  appalling,  and  there 
are  object  lessons  enough  in  Chicago  to  cause  any 
one  who  will  give  the  subject  but  a  moment  of 
good,  unselfish  thought,  to  go  to  the  polls  and  de- 
clare that  no  longer  shall  be  fostered  in  our  midst 
that  which  in  the  course  of  time  will  make  us 
no  better  than  a  nation  of  lepers.  Some  day 
parents  will  recognize  the  responsibility  of  bring- 
ing children  into  the  world. 

The  American  woman  of  the  fashionable  set 
lives  in  a  whirl  of  unhealthful  stress  and  excite- 
ment. She  sleeps  too  little  and  keeps  her  nerves 
constantly  on  the  Qui  Vive.  She  tipples  and 
drugs,  she  is  often  a  degenerate  and  a  mother  of 
degenerates — if,  indeed,  she  be  a  mother  at  all. 
This  drinking  among  women  is  more  prevalent 
than  we  are  willing  to  believe,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  greatest  dangers  with  which  we  are  confronted 
today.     The  hurry  and  fret  of  Chicago  life  IB 


144 


CHZCAQO 

turning  out  degenerates  at  a  rate  that  will  000 
day  stagger  the  world. 

Ignorance  and  bad  parentage  are  doing  the 
work  in  many  instances,  and  girls  comparatively 
good  are  led  oflf  by  bad  men  and  worse  women. 
Children  who  have  been  well  bom  and  should 
have  been  well  reared,  find  their  way  into  the 
schools  of  delinquents,  the  jails,  penitentiaries, 
and  insane  hospitals.  The  heredity  of  many  of 
these  children  is  appalling  and  the  environments 
does  the  rest. 

The  "barrel-houses"  are  located  in  the  poorer 
sections  of  the  city  where  the  liquors  of  the  vilest 
kind  are  sold.  Their  customers  are  the  poor  and 
wretched.  Only  the  cheapest  and  poisonous 
liquors  are  sold  here  as  a  rule. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  amount  of 
drunkenness  in  Chicago.  The  arrests  represent 
but  a  small  part  of  it,  as  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  habitual  drunkards  manage  to  keep  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  police.  Respectable  men 
patronize  the  bar-rooms  regularly,  and  are  con- 
stantly seen  reeling  along  the  streets.  So  long  as 
they  are  not  helpless,  or  guilty  of  disorderly  con- 

li5 


CHICAGO 

duct,  die  police  do  not  molest  them.  Systematic 
drinking,  which  does  not  amount  to  actual  intoxi- 
cation, but  kills  by  slow  degrees,  is  very  common. 
Among  the  most  liberal  patrons  of  the  bar-rooms 
are  young  men  and  even  boys,  who  thoughtlessly 
begin  their  careers  that  will  one  day  end  in 
sorrow. 

Drunkenness  is  by  no  means  confined  to  men. 
Women  are  largely  addicted  to  it.  Out  of  some 
twelve  arrests  for  this  cause  three  are  women. 
In  the  more  wretched  quarters  of  the  city,  women 
drink  heavily  and  are  among  the  most  constant 
customers  of  the  cheap  groggeries  which  thrive 
among  the  poor.  Even  women  of  respectability 
and  good  social  positions  are  guilty  of  the  vice 
of  intemperance.  They  all  do  not  frequent  bar- 
rooms, however,  but  obtain  liquor  at  the  restau- 
rants patronized  by  them,  and  it  is  a  common 
sight  to  see  well-dressed  women,  married  and 
single,  rise  from  a  restaurant  table  imder  the 
influence  of  intoxicating  drink. 

The  poem  of  Francis  E.  Bolton,  tells  the  story 
of  the  rum  demon. 

Within  a  home  of  woe  and  shame, 
140 


CHICAGO 

A  drunken  father  nightly  came. 

And  called  the  only  child  he  had. 

To  come  and  kiss  her  poor  old  dad. 

A  darling  little  girl  was  she. 

Who  climbed  upon  that  father's  knee. 

And  kissed  him  with  a  look  half  sad, 

Although  she  loved  her  poor  old  dad. 

Drunken  and  dirty,  weary  and  sad. 

She  always  kissed  her  poor  old  dad. 

But  lower,  lower  sank  his  soul. 

Infatuated  with  the  bowl, 

One  comfort  only  then  he  had. 

The  kiss  that  always  welcomed  dad. 

One  night  a  Christian  brother  came. 

And  won  him  from  his  woe  and  shame. 

He  found  the  Lord,  who  made  him  glad. 

That  night  she  kissed  a  sober  dad. 

Days  came  and  went,  his  eyes  grew  bright. 

His  clothes  were  neat,  his  heart  was  light. 

His  home  was  heaven,  his  child  was  glad. 

Some  marvelous  change  had  come  to  dad. 

One  night  he  called  her  as  of  yore, 

As  she  stood  white-robed  upon  the  floor. 

His  tone  a  deeper  loving  had, 

"Come,  pet,  and  kiss  your  poor  old  dad.** 

U7 


CHICAGO 

Loyal  and  loving,  manly  and  glad, 
She  knev/  some  change  had  come  to  dad. 
Her  eyes  lit  with  a  radient  smile, 
She  paused  in  thought  a  little  while, 
She  said  as  slow  as  she  looked  him  o'er, 
*'You're  not  my  old  dad  any  more." 
"What  tlien,  my  pet?"  he  asked  with  awc^ 
"Why,  now  you  are  my  new  papa." 

He  caught  her  to  his  breast  with  praise, 
"So  may  I  be  through  endless  days." 
Loyal  and  loving,  noble  and  true, 
Praise  to  the  Lord,  old  dad  is  new, 
0,  glorious  grace  of  God !  'tis  here, 
For  those  who  sigh  in  sin  and  fear. 
Come  unto  Christ  who  can  restore. 
Nor  be  the  old  man  any  more. 

In  Jesus  Christ  the  world  is  true, 
You  are  a  creature  wholly  new. 
The  blessed  spirit  now  implore. 
Nor  be  the  old  man  any  more. 
Loyal  and  loving,  noble  and  true, 
The  soul  that  lives  in  Christ  is  new, 

14S 


Gambling  Hells 

Past  and  Present. 

Thi  statutes  of  the  state  of  Illinois  pronounce 
severe  penalties  against  gambling  and  gamblers, 
yet  games  of  chance  have  flourished  in  the  past 
and  do  yet  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any  other 
city  in  the  country.  There  are  said  to  be  about 
20,000  men  who  maintain  an  existence  through 
gambling  in  one  form  or  another.  In  late  years 
the  laws  against  gambling  have  been  enforced 
more  rigidly  than  formerly,  and  the  niunber  of 
professional  gamblers  has  somewhat  diminished. 
Yet  there  are  enough  of  them  left  to  make  their 
business  a  very  marked  feature  of  metropolitan 
life. 

At  the  head  of  the  fraternity  are  the  faro  deal- 
ers. This  game  is  too  well  known  to  the  average 
American  to  need  any  description  here,  and  haf 
always  been  popular  in  this  country  because  of  ita 
supposed  fairness. 


14a 


CHICAGO 

"In  the  good  old  days,"  as  one  celebrity  ex. 
pressed  it,  there  were  between  forty  and  fifty 
faro  games  in  Chicago,  some  of  which  were  pala- 
tial establishments.  The  busiest  of  these  were  to 
be  found  in  Clark  street,  and  numerous  side 
streets;  outwardly  these  places  appear  to  be  sim- 
ply private  clubs,  for  they  have  a  silent,  deserted 
air  during  the  day,  giving  no  signs  of  life.  The 
blinds  are  kept  down  and  only  men  are  seen  to 
enter  and  leave  the  houses.  The  better  class  are 
furnished  with  great  magnificence,  and  costly 
paintings  adorn  the  walls;  the  softest  carpets 
cover  the  floors,  the  most  costly  furniture  fills  the 
apartments  and  superb  chandeliers  hang  from  the 
ceilings  and  shed  a  brilliant  glow  through  the 
rooms.  The  servants  are  colored,  and  the  attend- 
ance is  all  that  could  be  desired.  Delicious  sup- 
pers are  spread  nightly  for  guests,  and  rare  wines 
and  liquors  are  at  the  command  of  all  who  honor 
the  place  with  their  presence.  In  the  house  are 
all  the  various  conveniences  for  gaming.  In  the 
first-class  houses  no  one  is  asked  to  play,  but  it  ii 
understood  that  all  who  partake  of  the  proprie- 
tor's hospitality  are  expected  to  make  some  re- 
turn by  risking  something  at  the  tables.    In  the 


150 


OHIOAGO 

best  houses  the  games  are  generally  fair,  the  pro- 
prietor trusting  to  the  chances  of  the  game,  which 
are  nearly  all  in  favor  of  the  "Bank,"  and  the 
ekill  of  the  dealer.  Great  care  is  exercised  in  the 
admission  of  visitors.  The  proprietors  of  these 
places  discourage  the  visits  of  young  men;  they 
prefer  the  company  of  men  of  means  who  have 
Bomething  to  lose.  Poker  is  also  largely  played 
in  all  first-class  establishments. 

The  second-class  houses  or  "hells,"  are  scat- 
tered all  over  the  business  portion  of  the  city. 
The  visitors  to  these  establishments  are  chiefly 
young  men  and  strangers  in  the  city,  who  are 
lured  or  "roped"  into  them  by  agents  of  the  pro- 
prietors. Faro,  roulette,  poker  and  numerous 
other  games  are  played  here,  but  fair  games  are 
unknown,  except  among  the  professionals  who 
frequent  the  place.  The  "skin"  game  is  used 
with  the  majority  of  the  visitors,  for  the  proprie- 
tor is  determined  from  the  outset  to  fleece  them 
without  mercy.  In  these  places  everything  per- 
taining to  gaming  is  boldly  displayed— chips, 
cards,  faro  boxes,  roulette  wheels,  handsome  gam- 
ing tables,  and  side-boards  containing  liquors  and 
•igara.    The  entrance  to  the  houses  are  carefnUy 


151 


GHICAGO 

guarded,  the  doors  are  secured  by  heavy  bolts 
and  bars,  and  sliding  panels  afford  every  oppor- 
tunity for  inspecting  the  visitor  before  his  final 
admission  to  the  rooms.  Though  roulette  is  fre- 
quently played  in  these  establishments,  faro,  as 
we  have  said,  is  the  principal  game.  It  is  simpler 
than  roulette,  and  gives  a  heavy  percentage  in 
favor  of  the  *'bank,"  and  **skin  faro,"  the  only 
game  played  here,  offers  no  chance  to  the  player. 
In  "skin  faro"  the  dealer  can  take  two  cards 
from  the  box  instead  of  one,  whenever  he  chooses 
to  do  so.  The  box  is  so  arranged  that  the  dealer 
can  press  on  a  lever  within  the  box  in  the  right 
hand  corner.  When  this  is  pressed  upon  the 
mouth  of  the  box  is  opened,  so  as  to  allow  two 
cards  to  slip  out  at  onco.  The  cards  being 
"sanded,"  stick  close  together,  and  the  player 
can  not  perceive  that  there  are  two.  On  the  with- 
drawal of  the  pressure  from  the  lever  the  mouth 
of  the  box  is  closed  by  a  spring,  so  that  only  one 
card  can  slip  out.  There  are  some  boxes,  called 
"sanded-boxes,"  by  the  use  of  which  the  dealer 
can  press  on  the  end  of  the  box  and  take  out  two 
cards,  still  keeping  his  fingers  in  the  natural  po- 
sition, instead  of  being  obliged  to  reach  inside  of 


152 


CHICAGO 

the  box  m  order  to  press  the  lever.  No  tally  Im 
kept  of  these  games,  and  the  player  is  unable  to 
Bee  how  many  cards  have  been  dealt  out.  Should 
he  discover  the  trick,  it  is  highly  dangerous  to 
attempt  to  expose  it,  as  nearly  all  the  persons 
present  are  in  league  with  the  "bank,'*  and  are 
united  in  the  effort  to  get  possession  of  the  play- 
er's money.  The  safest  plan  is  to  bear  the  loss 
and  get  out  of  the  place  as  soon  as  possible,  as  the 
men  present  will  not  hesitate  to  provoke  a  quar- 
rel with  or  assault  a  stranger  who  disputes  the 
fairness  of  the  game.  A  quarrel  once  started, 
every  advantage  is  taken  of  the  player,  and  his 
life  is  not  worth  a  farthing.  The  safest  plan  of 
all  is  to  remain  away  from  these  hells.  The  man 
who  enters  any  gaming  house  in  Chicago,  espe- 
cially a  stranger  in  the  city,  is  a  fool,  and  deserves 
to  lose  his  money.  He  who  ventures  into  one  of 
the  second-class  houses,  risks  not  only  his  money, 
but  his  life.  However  wise  a  man  may  be  in  his 
own  conceit,  however  he  may  rank  as  an  oracle 
in  his  distant  home,  however  brave,  resolute,  or 
skillful  he  may  be,  he  is  no  match  for  a  Chicago 
gambler.    In  nine  houses  out  of  ten  his  life  is  in 


158 


CHICAGO 

danger  unless  he  submits  quietly  to  be  robbed  in 
the  most  barefaced  manner. 

One  of  the  worst  and  most  demoralizing  forms 
of  gambling  is  **pool  selling."  The  pool  business 
flourishes  at  the  present  time,  and  is  winked  at 
by  the  police  officers,  and  tribute  is  generally 
understood  to  be  levied  against  the  proprietors. 
The  business  is  conducted  by  professional  gam- 
blers, and  though  seemingly  fair,  is  a  swindle 
throughout.  Pools  are  sold  on  horse-races,  prize- 
fights, boat-races,  political  elections,  and  in  short, 
on  all  and  every  conceivable  contest  into  which 
the  element  of  chance  or  doubt  enters.  The  pool 
is  a  fixed  number  of  chances,  each  of  which  is 
sold  at  a  certain  price.  The  managers  charge  a 
percentage  or  commission  on  all  tickets  sold,  and 
do  not  hesitate  to  sell  as  many  as  there  are  appli- 
cants for,  even  though  the  legitimate  number  is 
exceeded  by  such  sales.  A  favorite  trick  is  to 
receive  the  money  invested  in  pools  and  then 
spread  reports  which  shall  discourage  the  bettors, 
and  induce  them  to  withdraw  their  bets.  The 
managers  return  the  amounts  invested,  minus 
their  commission,  which  they  retain,  and  in  this 
way,  while  seeming  to  act  with  perfect  faimeoB, 


154 


CHICAQO 

fill  their  coffers  at  the  expense  of  their  yictims. 
The  great  evil  of  "pool"  gambling  is  that  it 
encourages  young  men  and  boys  to  enter  into  the 
combinations,  and  thus  give  them  a  taste  for 
gambling.  The  possibility  of  winning  consider- 
able money  by  investments  fascinates  them.  Dur- 
ing a  political  campaign  officers  of  two  of  the 
largest  banks  in  the  city  called  upon  the  Chief  of 
Police,  and  stated  that  they  suspected  that  many 
of  their  clerks  visited  the  pool  rooms.  They 
feared  that  the  excitement  and  allurements  of 
gambling  might  impair  the  integrity  of  these 
young  men,  and  induce  them  to  appropriate 
money  belonging  to  the  bank.  Detectives  were 
employed,  and  the  suspicions  of  the  bank  officers 
were  confirmed.  Business  men  are  constantly 
finding  that  their  clerks  and  salesmen  are  regular 
visitors  to  the  pool-rooms.  Messenger  boys,  boot- 
blacks, and  others  who  earn  only  a  few  dollars  a 
week,  invest  all  the  money  they  can  get  hold  of 
in  buying  pool  tickets.  Men  of  high  respectability 
fall  victims  to  the  same  vice,  and  the  evil  goes  on 
increasing.  The  only  persons  who  profit  by  it 
are  the  managers  of  the  pools,  who  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  resort  to  any  trick  to  retain  the  money 


155 


CHICAGO 

intrusted  to  them,  and  who  cooly  swindle  their 
infatuated  dupes,  old  and  young,  with  the  same 
cheerful  alacrity. 

Another  vicious  form  of  gambling  is  the  lottery 
business,  closely  connected  with  which  is  "policy 
dealing."  Lotteries  are  of  two  kinds — the  single 
number  system  and  the  combination  system.  In 
the  former  as  many  single  numbers  as  there  are 
tickets  in  the  scheme,  are  placed  in  a  wheel,  and 
are  drawn  out  in  regular  order.  The  first  number 
drawn  wins  the  capital  prize,  and  so  on  until 
as  many  numbers  are  drawn  as  there  are  prizes. 
In  the  combination  system,  seventy-five  numbers 
are  generally  placed  in  the  wheel,  and  from  these 
a  certain  set  of  numbers  are  drawn,  according  to 
the  provisions  of  the  scheme.  The  chances  are 
much  greater  against  the  ticket  holders  in  this 
system  than  in  the  single  number  schemes,  as, 
in  order  for  a  player  to  win  a  prize,  the  various 
numbers  must  be  drawn  in  the  exact  order  repre- 
sented on  his  ticket. 

It  is,  of  course,  possible  for  a  lottery  to  be  fairly 
drawn,  but  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  in  the  ma- 
jority of  the  schemes  advertised  no  drawing  of 
any  kind  ever  takes  place.    A  bogus  drawing  is 


156 


CHICAGO 

published,  and,  though  prizes  are  assigned,  not  a 
single  ticket-holder  ever  receives  one.  Even  if 
the  drawing  is  fair,  the  business  is  to  be  denoun- 
ced on  the  ground  that  it  is  not  only  illegal,  but 
demoralizing.  The  purchasers  of  lottery  tickets 
are,  as  a  ride,  persons  unable  to  afford  the  expen- 
diture— generally  the  very  poor.  This  species  of 
gambling  has  a  fascination  which  holds  its  vot- 
aries with  a  grip  of  iron.  They  venture  again  and 
again,  winning  nothing,  but  hoping  for  better  luck 
next  time,  and  so  continue  until  they  have  lost 
their  all.  There  are  hundreds  of  well-authenti- 
cated cases  of  men  and  women  being  reduced  to 
beggary,  despair  and  suicide  by  lottery  gambling. 

The  managers  of  the  various  lottery  schemes 
are  professional  gamblers.  They  are  without  prin- 
ciple, and  do  not  intend  to  pay  any  prizes  to 
ticket-holders.  They  receive  their  money  from 
their  dupes,  announce  a  bogus  drawing,  in  which 
no  prizes  can  be  found  by  any  ticket-holder,  and 
then  coolly  ask  their  victims  to  try  again. 

Policy  dealing  is  one  degree  lower  in  infamy 
than  the  lottery  business.  There  were  at  one  time 
about  200  policy  shops  in  the  city,  whose  principal 
customers  are  negroes,   sailors   and  foreigners. 


157 


OHIOAGO 

The  mazes  of  policy  are  not  well  known  p*  the 
general  public.  Few  games  are  so  well  devisedl  fop 
a  sure  loss  to  the  player,  even  when  honestly 
played,  and  the  more  influential  sellers  make  thii 
assurance  doubly  sure  by  playing  to  suit  them- 
selves. The  game  consists  of  betting  on  certain 
numbers,  within  the  range  of  lottery  schemes, 
being  drawn  at  high  noon  or  night-drawing. 
Seventy-eight  numbers  usually  make  up  the  lot- 
tery scheme,  and  the  policy  player  can  take  any 
of  these  numbers  and  bet  they  will  be  drawn, 
either  single,  or  in  such  combinations  as  he  may 
select.  The  single  numbers  may  come  out  any- 
where in  the  drawing,  but  the  combination  must 
appear  as  he  writes  it  in  making  his  bet.  He  pays 
one  dollar  for  the  privilege  of  betting  and  re- 
ceives a  written  slip  containing  the  number  or 
numbers  on  which  he  bets.  If  a  single  number 
is  chosen  and  drawn,  he  wins  $5.00,  two  numbers 
constitute  a  "saddle,"  and  if  both  are  drawn  the 
player  wins  from  $24,00  to  $32.00,  three  numbers 
make  a  "gig"  and  win  from  $150  to  $225;  four 
numbers  make  a  "horse,"  and  win  $640.00  A 
"capital  straddle"  is  a  bet  that  two  numbers 
will  be  among  the  first  three  drawn,  and  wins 


158 


CHICAGO 

$500.00.  The  player  may  take  any  number  ol 
** saddles,"  "gigs,"  or  ** horses,"  paying  $1.00  for 
each  bet. 

Now  all  this  seems  very  fair,  but  the  policy 
managers  are  equal  to  the  emergency.  As  soon  as 
they  receive  the  drawings,  they  change  the  order 
of  the  numbers,  and  thus  condemn  the  players  to 
a  total  loss.  These  alternated  numbers  are  printed 
on  slips,  and  distributed  to  the  various  policy 
shops.  In  some  cases,  after  these  copies  have  been 
sent  out,  it  is  discovered  that  the  players  have 
even  then  won  too  much  to  suit  the  managers. 
The  copies  are  immediately  recalled  as  misprints, 
and  new  copies,  altered  to  suit  the  managers,  are 
distributed. 

All  sorts  of  people  engage  in  this  wretched 
game,  black  and  whites,  rich  and  poor.  The 
grossest  superstitions  are  indulged  in  respecting 
"lucky  numbers,"  Such  numbers  are  revealed 
by  dreamers,  which  are  interpreted  by  "dream 
books."  To  dream  of  a  man  is  "one,"  of  a  woman 
"five,"  of  both  "fifteen,"  and  so  on.  Thousands 
of  copies  of  these  "dream  books"  are  sold  every 
year,  and  among  its  purchasers  are  said  to  be 
many  shrewd  operators  on  the  Board  of  Trade. 


159 


CHICAGO 

So  great  is  the  rage  for  policy  playing  that  men 
and  women  become  insane  over  it.  The  lunatic 
asylums  contain  many  patients  who  have  been 
brought  there  by  this  species  of  gambling. 


tl» 


Criminal  Operations 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  city  is  the  exist* 
ence  of  a  class  of  men  and  women — some  practic- 
ing physicians — who  make  their  living  by  practic- 
ing abortion  upon  women  who  have  been  betrayed 
and  upojL  married  women.  These  abortionists  are 
known  as  a  rule  to  the  police,  who  make  no  effort 
to  bri^ak  up  the  infamous  business.  They  continue 
to  fl-jurish,  and  advertise  in  such  city  journals  as 
will  admit  their  advertisements,  and  reap  large 
profits  from  the  sale  of  drugs  and  the  perform- 
ance of  operations  upon  pregnant  women.  Their 
calling  is  illegal,  and  the  statute  books  inflicts 
grave  penalties  against  them.  To  bring  on  prema- 
ture confinement,  which  shall  result  in  the  death 
of  a  child,  is  made  by  law  a  grave  offense.  In  spite 
of  this,  however,  infanticide  flourishes  iB  Chicago, 
and  every  year  the  city  journals  contain  numer 
ous  accounts  of  the  death  of  women  at  the  hands 
of  professional  abortionists.  They  are  arrested 
and  punished  whenever  a  clear  oliUM  ^^^9  be  made 


t61 


CHICAGO 

©ut  against  them;  but  others  spring  up  to  take 
their  place,  and  the  infamous  business  continues 
to  thrive.  Some  of  the  more  cautious  practition- 
ers will  not  undertake  the  premature  delivery  of 
a  woman,  but  content  themselves  with  receiving 
her,  and  carrying  her  safely  through  her  confine- 
ment. They  require  that  she  shall  be  "backed" 
by  some  responsible  man.  The  child,  when  bom, 
is  sent  to  some  foundling  asylum,  or  given  to  per- 
sons willing  to  adopt  it.  Often  the  practitioner 
places  it  in  the  hands  of  some  person  to  care  for 
it,  and,  when  the  parents  are  of  good  position  in 
society,  and  possessed  of  wealth,  holds  it  as  a 
means  of  extorting  money  from  them.  Large 
sums  are  wrung  from  parents  in  this  way,  in 
order  to  avoid  an  exposure,  and  men  and  women 
have  been  driven  to  despair  and  suicide  by  the 
wretches  in  whose  power  they  have  placed  them- 
selves. 
One  of  the  most  notorious  women  of  this  clasR 

was  the  late  Madam  S .   A  large  part  of  her 

income  was  derived  from  the  sale  of  drugs  war- 
ranted to  bring  on  miscarriages.  She  amassed  a 
large  fortune,  by  her  business,  built  a  magnificent 
house  on  a  prominent  street,  and  lived  in  royal 


CHICAGO 

atjle.  She  would  never  commit  an  abortion  ont- 
right,  but  would  safely  deliver  her  patients,  take 
care  of  the  children  born  in  her  house,  and  use 
them  as  means  of  extorting  money  from  the  par- 
ents. Her  patients  were  invariably  women  of 
position  in  society,  in  the  city  and  other  parts  of 
the  country,  and  she  received  no  one  in  her  house 
unless  ' '  backed  "  by  a  man  of  known  wealth.  At 
length  her  wicked  ways  threw  her  into  the  hands 
of  the  police.  The  evidence  against  her  was  over- 
whelming, and  to  escape  the  just  punishment  of 
her  crimes,  the  wretched  woman  committed  sui- 
cide. 

A  physician  of  standing  in  his  profession  once 
said  to  me,  "The  number  of  young  girls  in  their 
teens  who  come  here  begging  my  services  is  as- 
tounding. Many,  of  course,  have  been  betrayed, 
and  seek  to  remove  the  consequences  of  their 
sin." 


m 


"Poverty  in  Chicago." 


Life  Under  the  Shadows 

Poverty  in  Chicago. 

It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  poor  in  any  part  of 
the  world.  In  Chicago  poverty  is  simply  a  living 
death.  The  city  is  full  of  suffering  and  misery. 
Some  of  the  wretched  people  who  endure  it  have, 
no  doubt,  brought  it  upon  themselves  by  drink, 
by  idleness,  or  by  other  faults,  but  a  large  major- 
ity are  simply  unfortunate.  Their  poverty  has 
come  upon  them  through  no  fault  of  their  own; 
they  struggle  bravely  against  it,  and  would  better 
their  condition  if  they  could  only  find  employ- 
ment. They  are  held  down  by  an  iron  hand,  how- 
ever, and  vainly  endeavor  to  rise  out  of  their  mu»- 
ery.  They  dwell  in  wretched  tenement  houses,  in 
sellars  of  buildings  in  the  more  thickly  populated 
parts  of  the  city,  and  in  shanties,  and  hovels  in  al- 
most every  quarter  of  the  city.  A  few  families, 
even  in  the  midst  of  their  sufferings,  manage  to 
keep  their  poor  quarters  clean  and  neat,  but  tb« 


165 


CHICAGO 

majority  live  in  squalor  and  filth.  But  little  fur- 
niture is  to  be  seen  in  the  rooms  of  the  poor. 
Bverything  that  can  bring  money  has  been  sold 
for  the  means  with  which  to  buy  food.  Many  of 
these  wretched  homes  have  been  stripped  of  all 
their  contents  for  this  purpose.  A  cooking  stove 
sometimes  constitutes  the  only  article  of  furniture 
in  a  room,  and  the  inmates  sleep  upon  the  floor. 
Not  a  chair  or  table  is  to  be  seen.  Often  there  is 
no  stove,  and  the  only  food  that  passes  the  lips  of 
the  occupants  of  these  rooms  is  what  is  given 
them  in  charity. 

The  inmates  of  these  wretched  homes  are  often 
families  who  have  seen  better  days.  Once  the 
husband  and  father  could  give  those  dependent 
upon  him  a  comfortable  home,  and  provide  at 
least  the  necessaries  of  life.  But  sickness  came  up- 
on him,  or  death  took  him,  and  the  little  family 
was  deprived  of  his  support.  In  vain  the  mother 
sought  to  procure  work  to  keep  her  children  in 
comfort.  What  work  she  could  procure  was  at 
intervals,  and  the  little  she  earned  barely  sufficed 
to  keep  a  roof  over  their  heads.  Little  by  little 
they  sank  lower  and  lower,  until  poverty  in  its 
worst  form  settled  upon  them.  The  city  is  full  of 


166 


CHICAGO 

such  cases,  and  missionaries,  whose  labors  among 
the  poor  bring  them  in  constant  contact  with 
scenes  of  suffering,  confess  that  they  do  not  know 
how  these  poor  people  manage  to  live.  Whole 
blocks  are  filled  with  families  on  the  verge  of 
starvation.  They  would  gladly  work  if  they  could 
get  employment ;  but  the  city  is  so  full  of  sufferers 
like  themselves  that  they  cannot  escape  from  their 
wretched  condition.  The  so-called  Ghetto  and 
other  localities  present  scenes  of  misery  which 
almost  surpass  belief.  Many  of  the  dwellers  here 
pick  up  a  bare  subsistence. 

To  those  who  visit  these  sections  of  the  city, 
each  one  seems  worse  than  the  other.  The  "Ghet- 
to" is  the  most  wretched  haunt  occupied  by  hu- 
man beings  in  the  country.  It  is  easily  found. 
Cross  the  river  at  Harrison  street,  go  west  to 
Jefferson  street,  turn  south.  Anybody  can  tell 
you  where  it  is.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  place. 
A  junkman's  cellar  in  the  front  of  the  house  opens 
widely  to  the  street,  and,  peering  down,  one  may 
see  a  scene  of  men  and  women  half  buried  in  dirty 
rags  and  papers  which  they  are  gathering  up  and 
putting  in  bales  for  the  paper  mills.  This  is  the 
general  depot  to  which  the  rag-picker  brings  his 


167 


CHICAQO 

odds  and  ends  for  sale  after  he  has  assorted  them. 
Just  as  we  emerge  from  this  cellar,  a  rag-picker, 
heavily  laden,  passes  up  the  stoop,  and  enters  the 
hall  above.  Standing  here  and  looking  up,  one 
beholds  a  sight  that  cannot  be  imagined.  Rags  to 
the  right  of  him,  rags  to  the  left  of  him,  on  all 
sides  nothing  but  rags.  Lines  in  the  yard  draped 
with  them,  windows  hung  with  them,  every  avail- 
able object  dressed  in  rags — and  such  rags!  of 
every  possible  size,  shape  and  color.  Some  of 
them  have  been  drawn  through  the  wash-tub  to 
get  off  the  worst  dirt,  but  for  the  most  part  they 
are  hung  up  just  as  they  were  taken  from  the 
bags,  and  left  to  the  rain  and  snow  to  cleanse 
them.  The  exterior  of  the  buildings  is  wretched 
enough ;  the  interior  equally  so. 

Some  of  the  rooms  on  a  cloudy  day  are  as  dark 
as  dungeons,  with  but  little  light  coming  through 
the  dirty  window  on  the  front  and  the  smaller  one 
on  the  back.  Every  inch  of  the  ceiling  and  walls 
is  black  and  dirty.  Against  this  dark  background 
are  hung  numerous  hats,  kettles,  pans,  joints  of 
raw  meat,  partly  consumed  Bologna  sausages, 
gowns  of  women,  and  so  on.  The  beds  are  almost 
Invariably  covered  with  old  carpets,  that  still  re- 


168 


CHICAGO 

tain  some  bits  of  their  original  color.  None  of  th« 
ehairs  have  backs,  and  hardly  any  of  them  hav« 
four  legs.  Seated  upon  these  uncertain  supports, 
or  often  an  empty  soap  box  or  upturned  boiler,  are 
the  rag-pickers.  Every  man  in  the  house  has  his 
hat  on,  including  the  one  in  bed  napping  after  the 
hard  work  of  the  early  morning.  Not  one  bare- 
headed man  is  seen  anywhere.  Some  of  them  are 
sitting  dreamily  by  the  stove,  but  most  of  them 
are  sorting  rags  or  cutting  up  old  coats  and  pan- 
taloons that  are  too  much  used  to  wear,  and  stuff- 
ing the  bits  into  the  bags  for  the  junk  dealer.  In 
one  room  is  a  woman  washing  bones  with  her 
dirty  hands,  in  another  place  four  men  are  seated 
on  a  big  chest,  with  a  bit  of  Bologna  sausage  in 
one  hand  and  a  chunk  of  black  bread  in  the  other, 
making  their  noon-day  meal.  These  same  hands 
have  just  finished  turning  over  filthy  scraps  from 
the  garbage  boxes  and  the  gutters.  On  the  ground 
floor  a  man,  who  looks  for  all  the  world  like  a 
brigand,  is  stirring  broth  over  the  fire,  and  the 
horrible  odor  of  rotteness  that  comes  from  the 
pot  is  enough  to  knock  one  down. 

Few  of  the  members  of  the  Italian  colony  speak 
Aaglish,  except  here  and  there  one  has  mastered 


169 


CHICAGO 

a  few  common  phrases ;  but  there  is  one  word  tknat 
aU  of  them  understand,  and  that  is  "Beer."  Here, 
as  in  other  quarters  where  the  poor  are  found, 
sour  beer  is  dealt  out  at  a  cent  a  glass.  I  once 
asked  a  police  officer  if  there  was  much  drunken- 
ness there.  "Oh,  yes,  sir,"  he  replied;  "we  can 
go  in  there  any  night  and  get  a  cart  load  of  drun- 
ken men  and  women." 

Passing  through  these  quarters  of  abode  of  our 
foreign  born  brethren  you  will  often  find  two  or 
more  families  occupying  a  single  room.  Some- 
times as  many  as  a  dozen  people  are  to  be  found 
living  in  a  small  room.  Often  a  family  of  five  will 
take  in  lodgers  at  five  cents  a  night.  There  are  no 
beds.  Chalk  marks  are  made  on  the  floor  allotting 
a  space  2x6  feet  to  each  other.  To  add  to  their 
income  they  sell  sour  beer  at  2  cents  a  quart.  The 
place  is  filthy  beyond  belief.  The  upper  floors  are 
not  quite  so  bad ;  but  they  contain  sights  that  baf- 
fle description.  The  inmates  are  huddled  together 
in  disregard  of  cleanliness  and  decency.  The 
rooms  are  dirty  and  the  air  is  foul.  The  food  is 
gathered  principally  from  the  garbage  boxes  of 
the  streets  or  from  the  offal  of  the  markets.  The 
eooking  is  done  from  time  to  time  and  fills  ih» 


170 


CHICAGO 

room  with  horrible  odors.  There  are  no  bedsteadi. 
Filthy  looking  mattresses  on  the  floor,  or  on 
boards  placed  upon  supports.  The  inmates  never 
undress,  but  go  to  bed  with  their  clothes  on,  in- 
eluding  their  boots  and  shoes.  The  children  are 
wan  and  pinched  in  appearance,  and  frightfully 
dirty.  What  wonder  that  sickness  and  disease 
hold  high  revel  here ! 

Bad  as  is  the  lot  of  these  people,  they  at  least 
exist  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Those  who  dwell 
in  the  cellars  of  these  wretched  quarters  are  in- 
finitely worse  off.  They  have  but  one  entrance, 
and  a  single  window  gives  light  and  ventilation- 
There  is  no  outlet  in  the  rear  and  the  filth  of  the 
street  drains  steadily  into  them.  They  are  occu- 
pied by  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  and  the  amount 
of  misery  and  wretchedness,  dirt  and  squalor  to 
be  witnessed  in  them  passes  description.  In  the 
winter  a  stove  heats  the  place,  and  renders  the  air 
so  foul  that  one  unaccustomed  to  it  cannot  breath 
in  the  room.  Many  of  these  cellars  are  lodging 
houses  into  which  the  wretched  outcasts  who  walk 
the  streets  during  the  day,  crowd  for  shelter  at 
night.  They  pay  from  two  to  five  cents  for  a 
night's  lodging,  and  sometimes  as  many  as  from 


171 


GHIGAGO 

tw^enty-fiye  to  fifty  are  packed  in  these  tarrible 
holes. 

There  are  sections  of  many  streets  in  the  busi- 
ness part  of  the  city  that  equal  in  wretchedness 
and  misery  those  previously  described.  They  are 
terrible  streets,  and  even  the  police  venture  into 
them  with  caution.  Drunken  brawls,  fights  and 
stabbing  affrays  are  of  nightly  occurence. 

John  Chinaman  is  a  stranger  and  a  waif  in  the 
great  city,  but  he  has  managed  to  establish  a  dis- 
tinct quarter  in  Clark  street.  In  other  portions 
of  the  city  are  Chinese  laundries,  where  the 
almond-eyed  Celestials  conduct  their  business  of 
washing  and  ironing ;  but  here  are  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Mongolians,  their  gaming  and  opium 
dens.  Though  peaceable  as  a  rule,  they  are  some- 
times troublesome,  and  the  police  find  them  hard 
customers  to  handle.  They  are  inveterate  gam- 
blers, and  one  of  their  chief  dissipations  consists 
in  stupifying  themselves  by  smoking  opium.  The 
Ofpium  dens  are  simply  dirty  rooms  provided  with 
wooden  bunks,  and  sometimes  beds,  in  which  the 
imokers  may  lie  and  sleep  off  the  effects  of  the 
terrible  drug.  Many  of  these  places  are  patron- 
ated  by  white  people,  and  some  number  womoD 


Hi 


CHICAGO 

of  the  lower  class  among  their  customers.  Half 
nude  men  and  women  of  all  nationalities  and 
colors  are  sometimes  found  lying  in  heaps  in  a 
single  room.  These  eases  are  rare,  however,  as 
the  authorities  are  watchful  for  this  class  of  iaw- 
breakert. 


IW 


The  Pawnbrokers 

The  stranger  passing  along  Clark  street  is 
struck  with  the  number  of  quiet,  dingy  looking 
shops  over  which  are  suspended  the  old  sign  of 
the  Lombards — three  gilt  ball  signs;  all  of  the 
latter  more  or  less  dingy,  may  be  seen  in  many 
other  quarters  of  the  city,  but  they  are  nowhere 
so  numerous  as  in  the  street  we  have  mentioned. 
These  pawnbrokers'  shops,  and,  as  a  rule,  the 
proprietors,  are  leeches — sucking  the  life  blood 
of  the  poor,  and  grow  rich  upon  their  miseries. 
Of  course,  in  all  large  cities  there  must  of  neces- 
sity be  a  great  aggregation  of  poverty  and  misery. 
To  the  poor,  the  pawnbroker  is  a  necessity.  They 
must  have  some  place  to  which  they  can  repair  at 
once  and,  by  pledging  such  articles  as  they  pos- 
sess, raise  the  pittance  they  so  sorely  need.  Muni- 
cipal legislators  the  world  over  recognize  this  ne- 
sessity,  and  endeavor  to  throw  such  safeguards 
around  the  business  of  pawnbroking  that  the 
poor  shall  uot  be  entu*ely  at  the  mercy  of  the 


175 


CHICAGO 

brokers.  The  great  state  of  Illinois  has  in  the  last 
few  years  passed  a  state  pawners  law  which  has 
given  to  thousands  of  the  poor  low  rates  of  inter- 
est. 

In  Chicago  the  law  requires  that  licenses  to  do 
business  as  pawnbrokers  shall  be  issued  to  none 
but  persons  of  known  good  character.  The  Mayor 
of  the  city  alone  has  the  power  of  issuing  such 
licenses,  and  mayors  of  all  parties  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  putting  a  very  liberal  construction 
upon  the  law.  None  but  those  so  licensed  can  do 
business  in  Chicago.  Mayors  of  all  cliques  and 
parties,  have  exercised  their  power  with  appar- 
ently little  sense  of  the  responsibility  which  rests 
upon  them.  They  have  not  ordinarily  at  least,  re- 
quired clear  proof  of  the  integrity  of  the  appli- 
cants, but  have  usually  licensed  every  applicant 
possessed  of  particular  or  other  influence.  There 
is  scarcely  an  instance  where  they  have  revoked 
a  license  thus  granted,  even  when  they  have  been 
furnished  with  proofs  of  the  dishonesty  of  the 
holders. 

Very  few,  if  any  pawnbrokers,  pay  any  atten- 
tion to  the  law.  They  know  that  the  great  major- 
ity of  their  customers  are  ignorant  of  the  provi- 


176 


CHICAGO 

sions  of  the  statutes  and  that  those  who  are  famiU 
iar  with  it  will  not  avail  themselves  of  its  protec- 
tion, as  they  fear  to  lose  the  favor  of  the  pawn- 
brokers. Consequently  they  fix  their  own  rate  of 
interest,  which  may  be  said  to  average  five  per 
cent  per  month,  or  any  fractional  part  of  a  monlb, 
or  sixty  per  cent  per  year.  Some  of  the  more  un- 
scrupulous members  of  the  fraternity,  where  deal- 
ings are  exclusively  with  the  poor,  charge  a  much 
higher  rate,  extorting  as  much  as  ten  per  cent  a 
month  from  those  whose  needs  are  very  great. 

The  writer  recalls  a  case  where  a  widow  of  a 
few  days  came  into  a  pawnshop  on  Clark  street. 
She  was  clad  in  a  light  calico  wrapper  with  tf 
small  shawl  thrown  about  her  head.  She  was  des- 
titute, and  had  been  ordered  from  her  little  three- 
room  flat  near  by,  unless  the  almost  fabulous  sum, 
to  her,  of  seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  should  be 
paid  over  to  the  landlord  at  once.  Trembling  she 
entered  the  dingy  "store'*  and  offered  her  en- 
gagement ring  in  pawn.  Being  asked  the  amount 
she  wanted  for  the  pledge,  she  was  told  that  she 
would  receive  just  one-quarter  of  that  amount. 

"Oh,  sir,"  she  pleaded,  "I  must  have  that 
amount,  my  baby  is  sick  and  the  doctor  said  that 


177 


CHICAGO 

to  remove  her  now  would  mean  to  kill  heir.  The 
ring  is  the  last  and  most  precious  gift  I  have  of 
my  dear,  dead  husband.  I  will  redeem  it,  if  God 
gives  me  life  and  strength  to  do  so. ' ' 

The  hardened  man  refused  to  give  more,  and 
taking  the  ring  from  his  hand,  with  tears  stream- 
ing down  her  pale  cheeks,  she  started  toward  the 
door. 

My  sympathies  were  naturally  with  the  poor, 
gfrief-stricken  woman,  and  advancing  toward  her 
asked  if  I  might  assist  her  in  any  way.  She  told 
me  a  story  of  want  and  deprivation.  How  she  had 
Bold  everything  of  value  she  had  in  order  to  fur- 
nish medicine  for  her  husband  who  had  been  sick 
for  a  long  time.  How,  one  by  one,  her  most  cher- 
ished and  useful  articles  of  furniture,  bric-a-brac 
and  jewelry  had  been  sold  or  pawned,  keeping  to 
the  last,  the  ring,  the  one  token  that  meant  so 
mnch  to  her. 

Turning  to  the  keeper  of  the  shop  I  instructed 
him  to  give  her  the  amount  she  had  previously 
asked  for,  stating  that  I  would  pay  him  that 
amount  if  the  woman  in  question  failed  to  redeem 
the  ring  within  sixty  days.  I  shall  never  forget 
Hie  expression  of  gratitude  that  seemed  to  per- 


178 


CHICAGO 

meate  her  whole  being,  and  with  profuse  thank- 
fulness, and  "God  bless  you,  sir,"  she  departed. 

Another  source  of  profit  to  the  pawnbrokers 
arises  from  the  sale  of  unredeemed  articles.  Ad- 
vances are  made  at  so  low  a  rate  that  the  proper- 
ty pledged  is  sure  to  bring  more  when  put  up  for 
sale  than  the  sum  loaned  upon  it. 

The  majority  of  the  pawnbrokers  of  Chicago 
are  Polish  and  Russian  Jews,  and  are  the  most 
rascally  of  that  race.  They  do  not  monopolize  the 
business,  however,  for  there  are  Englishmen,  Irish- 
men and  even  Americans  engaged  in  it.  The  most 
honest  dealers  are  found  among  the  Americans 
and  Englishmen.  The  pawnbroker  is  by  nature  a 
scoundrel,  and  so  far  as  the  observation  of  the 
writer  goes,  has  not  one  redeeming  quality.  He 
advances  the  smallest  amount  on  goods  pledged, 
extorts  the  highest  rates  of  interest,  and  is  the 
most  merciless  in  his  dealings  with  his  customers 
of  any  of  the  fraternity.  The  Jews  are  so  numer- 
ous in  this  business,  that  they  have  given  it  its 
peculiar  reputation.  These  wretches  suck  the 
very  life  blood  from  the  poor,  and  having  gotten 
possession  of  their  property,  do  not  hesitate  to  sell 
it  for  many  times  its  value,  when  they  see  an  op- 


179 


CHICAGO 

porttinity  for  doing  so.  When  the  owner  comai 
for  his  or  her  property,  the  pawnbroker  declarea, 
with  well  feigned  regret,  that  it  cannot  be  found, 
and  either  turns  the  owner  out  of  doors,  or  buys 
up  his  pawn  ticket  at  a  very  heavy  discount.  He 
knows  the  disinclination  to  seek  redress  at  law. 
These  wretches  do  not  hesitate  to  deck  their  fami- 
lies out  in  the  clothing,  shawls  and  jewelry  pledg- 
ed to  them.  Often  the  clothes  are  worn  out,  and 
the  return  of  the  pledge  is  either  refused  or  the 
articles  are  restord  in  such  a  damaged  condition 
as  to  be  useless.  Sometimes  a  spirited  depositor 
will  demand  full  redress  for  the  loss  so  inflicted 
upon  him,  and  will  threaten  the  broker  with  an 
appeal  to  the  courts.  If  the  broker  is  convinced 
that  the  depositor  is  in  earnest,  he  settles  up 
promptly ;  but  there  is  an  end  to  his  dealings  with 
that  person.  He  has  no  wish  to  have  his  transac- 
tions brought  to  the  light  of  Justice.  Such  pro- 
ceeding would  bring  unpleasant  consequences  in 
its  train,  and  he  does  not  desire  such  customers. 
The  majority  of  the  pawnshops  are  dirty  and 
repulsive  in  appearance.  Before  them  hangs  the 
sign  of  the  three  balls,  and  the  windows  are  filled 
with  unredeemed  pledges  for  sale,  and  are  adorned 


180 


OHIOAGO 

with  signs  stating  that  money  is  loaned  here  on  all 
kinds  of  property  at  the  most  liberal  rates. 

Pushing  open  the  dirty  door,  we  enter  a  dingy 
apartment.  The  air  is  close  and  stuffy,  and  the 
room  smells  strongly  of  garlic  or  onions.  A  man 
with  an  unmistakably  Jewish  face  and  a  villain- 
ous expression  of  countenance  stands  behind  the 
narrow  counter.  "We  take  our  stand  inside,  in- 
visably  of  course,  and  watch  the  proceedings. 

A  young  man  enters,  well  dressed,  and  rather 
dissipated  in  appearance.  The  child  of  Abraham 
watches  him  narrowly,  and  begins  to  shake  his 
head  and  groan,  as  if  in  pain.  The  visitor  ap- 
proaches the  counter,  and  lays  a  gold  watch  upon 
it.  The  broker  clutches  it  eagerly,  examines  it, 
and  groans  louder  than  ever. 

"Vat  you  want  on  dis  vatch?"  he  asks  mourn- 
fully. 

"Plfty  dollars.  It  cost  me  one  hundred  and 
fifty,'*  is  the  reply. 

"Fifty  tollar!  fifty  toUar!  Holy  Moshish,  vat 
you  take  me  for?" 

Then  turning,  calls  wildly,  "Abraham!  Abra- 
ham I  you  shust  koom  heir,  quick. ' ' 

A  second  Jew,  dirtier  and  more  disreputable 


181 


CHICAGO 

looking  than  the  first,  makes  his  appearance,  and 
the  proprietor,  passing  up  his  hands,  shrieka  out, 
as  if  in  despair : 

"Abraham!  he  vants  fifty  tollars  on  dat  vatch. 
De  man  is  crazy." 

**Ve  shall  be  ruined,"  echoes  Abraham,  hoarse- 
ly.   "Ve  couldn't  do  it.    Tish  too  much." 

The  proprietor  waves  his  arms  wildly,  takes  the 
watch  from  Abraham,  and  eyeing  the  owner 
sharply  for  a  moment,  says : 

**I  tell  you  vat  I  do.  I  gif  you  fifteen  tollars. 
How  long  you  vant  de  monish  ? '  * 

Only  for  a  month,"  replies  the  young  man, 
evidently  struggling  between  disgust  and  despair. 

"I  let  you  haf  fifteen  tollars  for  de  month," 
says  the  pawnbroker,  seizing  a  ticket  and  com- 
mencing to  make  it  out.  "You  pay  me  one  toUar 
for  de  loan,  and  pay  me  fifty  cents  to  put  de  vatch 
in  de  safe,  you  know  it  might  get  stole  if  I  leaf  it 
out  hier.    Dat  shuit  you,  mine  young  frient?" 

The  young  man  has  "been  there"  before,  and 
knows  that  remonstrance  is  useless.  He  nods  a 
silent  affirmation,  and  the  pawnbroker  makes  out 
a  ticket  for  fifteen  dollars,  and  hands  him  thir- 
teen dollars  and  fifty  cents,  having  deducted  the 


182 


CHICAGO 

interest  and  the  charge  for  storage.  The  yotmg 
man  receives  the  money  and  ticket,  and  goes  out 
in  silence. 

"Dat  ish  peesness,"  says  Abraham,  admiringly, 
as  the  proprietor  puts  the  watch  away. 

"Yesh,"  mutters  the  pawnbroker,  with  a  witis- 
fied  air,  **de  vatch  Lsh  vort  a  hundred  tollar.  It 
he  don't  take  it  up,  it  will  bring  us  dat." 

The  next  customer  is  a  poor  woman,  who  comes 
to  pledge  some  article  of  household  use.  She  is 
ground  down  to  the  lowest  cent,  and  charged  the 
highest  interest ;  and  so  the  proceedings  go  on  un- 
til we  become  heartsick,  and  leave  the  place  as 
invisibly  as  we  can. 

The  principal  dealings  of  the  pawnbrokers  we, 
as  we  have  said,  with  the  poor.  Life  is  hard  in 
Chicago,  and  those  who  dwell  under  the  shadow 
are  obliged  to  make  great  sacrifices  of  comfort 
to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  Everything  that 
will  bring  money  finds  its  way  to  the  pawn  shop 
and  the  miserable  pittance  received  for  it  goes  to 
provide  food.  Too  often  articles  of  household  use 
or  clothing  are  pawned  to  raise  money  for  drbik, 
and  the  possessions  of  the  family  are  one  by  one 


183 


CHICAQO 

sacrificed  for  this  wretched  purpose,  until  noth- 
ing is  left. 

The  pawnbrokers  find  a  very  profitable  class  of 
customers  in  the  respectable  working  people  of 
the  city;  many  of  these  regularly  pawn  articles, 
sometimes  of  value,  at  the  first  of  the  week,  and 
redeem  them  when  they  receive  their  wages  on 
Saturday.  It  is  to  the  broker's  interest  to  be 
obliging  to  these  people,  since  they  are  regular 
customers,  and  he  reaps  a  rich  harvest  from  them 
in  the  exhorbitant  interest  they  pay  him. 

It  is  a  common  belief  that  the  pawnbrokers 
are  also  receivers  of  stolen  goods.  Some  of  the 
more  unscrupulous  may  make  ventures  of  this 
kind,  but  as  a  rule  the  brokers  have  nothing  to 
do  with  thieves ;  the  risk  of  detection  is  too  great, 
so  they  confine  themselves  to  what  they  term 
their  "legitimate  business,"  and  leave  dealings 
in  stolen  property  to  the  "fences,"  who  consti- 
tute a  distinct  class. 


184 


Pacific  Garden  Mission 

In  one  of  the  vilest  sections  of  the  city  is  a 
modest  looking  brick  building,  known  as  Pacific 
Garden  Mission.  Over  the  door  hangs  a  lantern 
bearing  the  inscription,  "Strangers  Welcome.** 
When  the  shades  of  night  come  on,  and  the  rays 
of  the  lantern  shine  out,  revealing  the  legend  in- 
scribed upon  it,  they  illuminate  a  region  full  of 
vice,  crime  and  suffering.  In  earlier  days  the 
street  was  lined  with  long  rows  of  rum-shops, 
ratpits,  low-down  dens,  and  thieves*  dens  of  the 
worst  description.  Here  and  there  are  dance 
houses,  brilliantly  lighted,  and  ornamented  with 
gaudy  transparencies.  Strains  of  music  floated 
out  into  the  night  air,  and  about  the  doors  and 
along  the  sidewalks  stand  groups  of  hideous 
women,  waiting  to  entice  the  stranger  into  these 
hells  where  they  are  made  drunk  with  drugged 
liquors,  robbed  of  their  money  and  valuables  and 
turned  helpless  into  the  streets.  Groups  of  drunk- 
en and  foul-mouthed  men  and  boys  lounge  about 


188 


CHICAGO 

the  street,  bandying  vile  jests  with  the  women, 
and  often  insulting  respectable  passersby.  High 
over  all  this  sea  of  wretchedness  and  sin,  the 
Pacific  Garden  lantern  shines  out  like  a  beacon 
light,  the  only  sign  of  cheer  and  hope  to  be  seen. 
If  you  listen  you  will  hear  sounds  of  music  in  this 
building  also,  but  the  strains  are  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving — strange  sounds  to  hear  in  such  a 
neighborhood. 

Some  years  ago  a  wretched  building,  that  had 
long  been  used  for  vile  purposes  and  known  as  one 
of  the  toughest  places  which  Chicago  then  sup- 
ported, was  secured  by  George  R.  Clarke  and  his 
wife,  and  was  opened  as  a  Christian  mission,  and 
devoted  to  saving  the  drunken  and  sinful  dwellers 
in  this  section  of  the  city.  The  work  was  slow  at 
first,  but  it  prospered  and  at  length  assumed  such 
proportions  that  the  old  building  was  found  in- 
adequate to  the  purpose  of  the  mission  and  the 
German  Methodist  Church  building  at  100  Van 
Buren  street  was  secured  and  has  been  continu- 
ously occupied  by  the  Mission  for  over  twenty- 
five  years. 

The  surprise  of  this  quarter  of  the  city  at  seeing 
George  R.  Clarke  and  his  wife  in  its  midst  in  the 


186 


CHICAGO 

guise  of  missionaries  was  not  unnatural.  Minister- 
ing to,  caring  for,  and  saving  the  drunkard  and 
the  harlot  is  the  work  planned  for  the  corps  of 
workers. 

Colonel  Clarke,  as  he  was  familiarly  known, 
died  some  years  ago.  It  was  while  he  was  en- 
gaged as  a  western  miner  that  he  became  imbued 
with  the  spirit  to  save  souls.  Returning  to  Chi- 
cago, he  married,  and  the  two  began  the  work  of 
saving  the  lost  and  friendless.  Their  meetings 
were  well  attended;  many  came  to  see  and  hear 
and  others  to  make  fun;  but  the  earnestness  of 
the  devoted  pair  had  its  effects  and  the  curious 
and  scoffers  became  converts  in  their  turn.  Little 
by  little  assistance  began  to  be  held  out  to  the 
Mission,  and  at  length  a  strong  body  of  Christian 
men  and  women  came  to  its  aid  with  money,  and 
the  Mission  placed  upon  a  sound  and  safe  basis. 

They  have  gone  among  the  outcasts  and  the 
wretched,  the  sinful  and  the  degraded,  and  have 
rescued  them  from  their  vile  ways,  brought  them 
to  the  saving  knowledge  of  God  and  His  religion, 
*nd  have  started  them  in  a  new  and  better  course 
»f  life.  Their  efforts  often  failed ;  many  of  their 
converts  lapsed  into  their  old  ways,  but  the  num- 


187 


CHICAGO 

ber  of  those  who  are  actually  reforming  is  surpris- 
ingly large,  and  the  lasting  results  achieved  are 
great  and  glorious.  No  one,  however  wretched, 
however  far  gone  in  sin,  is  ever  turned  away;  a 
helping  hand  is  extended  to  all,  and  the  vilest 
outcast  is  made  to  feel  welcome  and  confident  that 
there  is  still  a  chance  for  salvation  left  him. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  sight  in  the  city 
than  one  of  Pacific  Garden  Mission  Gospel  meet- 
ings. The  audience  is  made  up  of  men  and  women 
of  various  classes,  including  many  who  avoid 
other  Christian  agencies,  who  have  never  been  in 
a  place  of  prayer  or  heard  the  Bible  read  except 
by  the  prison  Chaplain;  the  poor  and  friendless 
who  have  drifted  into  Chicago  from  all  parts  of 
the  world;  drunkards,  thieves,  roughs  and  dis- 
charged convicts,  sailors,  and  many  prodigal  sons 
who  have  wandered  away  from  Christian  mothers 
and  have  fallen  into  crime  and  beggary. 

The  meetings  are  held  in  a  pleasant,  well-light- 
ed and  ventilated  room  on  the  first  floor.  Near 
the  entrance  hangs  a  sign,  inscribed  as  follows: 
"Strangers  and  the  Poor  Always  Welcome."  Over 
the  inside  walls  is  the  favorite  scriptural  verse 
of  Colonel  Clarke,  which  reads:     'Christ  oaxue 


188 


CHICAGO 

into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  among  whom  I 
am  Chief."  The  room  is  neatly  furnished,  an(?  is 
provided  with  a  cabinet  organ. 

The  genius  of  the  place  is  Harry  Munroe,  the 
assistant  superintendent  of  the  mission.  He  is  a 
powerful  messenger  of  the  Gospel  to  the  lost  ones 
of  the  great  city.  He  is  a  man  with  sharp  eyes 
and  quick,  decisive  manner.  He  is  thoroughly  in 
earnest  in  his  work,  and  understands  the  charac- 
ter and  habits  of  the  class  to  whom  he  appeals. 
Being  intense  in  his  purposes  and  animated  by 
a  desire  to  win  sinners  to  the  Saviour,  he  is  able 
to  speak  with  effectual  power  to  these  rough  men, 
who  listen  respectfully  to  his  words,  and  arc 
attracted  to  him  by  those  personal  peculiarities 
that  fit  him  for  his  work — a  work  that  is  unique, 
and  has  become  one  of  the  most  important  in  the 
great  city. 

As  the  clock  points  to  the  hour  for  song  and 
testimony,  Harry  opens  his  hymn-book,  and  calls 
out  in  a  strong,  cheery  voice,  "sixty-nine,"  and 
thereupon  the  singing  begins,  accompanied  by  the 
cabinet  organ,  and  the  singers  whose  voices  were 
once  raised  only  in  blasphemy.  If  the  singing  is 
a  little  faint,  Harry  spurs  up  his  audience  by  call- 


189 


CHICAGO 

ing  out,  "Don't  be  afraid  of  your  voices,  boys; 
sing  out  with  your  whole  soul, ' '  and  generally  the 
volume  of  praise  grows  stronger  and  fuller. 

The  testimonies  roll  in  as  the  meeting  progresses, 
strange  and  startling  many  of  them,  some  so 
quaintly  worded  that  they  would  provoke  a  smile 
in  a  more  "respectable"  prayer-meeting,  but  all 
given  with  an  earnestness  and  pathos  that  is  won- 
derful. Sometimes  a  drunken  man  will  endeavor 
to  interrupt  the  meeting.  One  night  a  man  of  this 
kind  staggered  to  his  feet,  and  hiccoughed,  "Jesus 
saves  me,  too." 

"That  ain't  so,"  replied  Harry,  emphatically; 
"Jesus  don't  save  any  man  that  is  full  of  rum." 
And  down  sits  the  man,  utterly  abashed  by  the 
quick  retort. 

Harry  acts  as  his  own  policeman,  and  meets  all 
attempts  at  disturbances  on  the  ground.  The  of- 
fenders are  seized  in  his  powerful  grasp,  and  led 
to  the  door,  and  put  into  the  street,  first  being 
entreated  to  be  quiet  and  lead  better  lives. 

As  the  testimonies  are  given  the  audience  is 
deeply  moved.  Yonder  is  a  street-walker,  kneel- 
ing on  the  floor,  with  her  face  hidden  in  her 
hands,  sobbing  bitterly.    Mrs.  Clarke,  or  one  of 


190 


OHICAQO 

the  co-workers  goes  down  to  the  poor  outcast,  and 
whispers  to  her  despairing  soul  the  only  words  of 
hope  she  ever  heard.  Others  give  evidence  of 
their  desire  to  be  saved,  and  the  meeting  devotes 
itself  to  prayer  for  them.  Mrs.  Clarke's  keen  eye 
sweeps  the  room,  and  at  once  detects  the  hesi- 
tating. In  an  instant  she  is  at  their  side,  devoting 
her  mild,  but  powerful  eloquence  to  urging  them 
to  take  the  decisive  step  then  and  there. 

There  is  something  wonderful  in  her  mild  grasp 
of  the  hand,  and  in  her  earnest  tones,  "Come,  let 
the  Good  Lord  save  you.  He  has  saved  others, 
and  I  know  there  is  a  chance  for  you." 

"And  He  took  him  by  the  right  hand  and  lifted 
liim  up/'    Lifted  him  up!  my  brother! 


Ifl 


Churches 


Among  the  great  institutions  of  Chicago  is  th^ 
ehnrch.  No  greater  force  for  righteousness  exists 
anywhere.  The  great,  stately  edifices  are  scat- 
tered over  the  entire  city ;  from  the  business  cen- 
ter back  to  the  grand  trees  of  the  suburbs.  Their 
tall  spires  point  solemnly  heavenward,  as  if  to 
lift  the  soul  above  the  vulgar  worship  of  mam- 
mon, and  at  intervals  the  sweet  tones  of  chimes 
come  floating  down  into  the  streets,  telling  that 
wealth  is  not  all,  folly  is  not  all,  business  is  not 
all!  but  that  there  is  something  purer,  nobler, 
waiting  high  above  the  golden  cross  which  the 
sunlight  bathes  so  lovingly. 

The  music  at  the  fashionable  churches  is  superb, 
The  organist  is  a  professor  of  reputation,  and  the 
choir  is  made  up  of  singers  of  some  note  who  de- 
vote themselves  to  concerts  and  public  amuse- 
ments on  secular  days. 

Not  many  years  ago  the  tenor  of  one  of  the 
best  choirs  in  the  city  was  also  the  popular  singar 


CHICAGO 

in  a  State  street  "Free  and  Easy."  He  had  a 
magnificent  voice,  and  his  secular  engagements 
were  constant  and  profitable;  often  keeping  him 
in  the  concert  hall  all  through  Saturday  night, 
and  until  the  small  hours  of  Sunday  morning. 
The  tenor  unfortunately  had  a  weakness  for  hig 
glass,  and  it  was  a  constant  wonder  to  his  friendi 
that  he  contrived  to  get  his  head  clear  enough  by 
church  time   on   Sunday   morning   to   take  his 

place  in  the  choir  of  St. church.  For  a  long 

while,  however,  he  managed  to  fill  both  engage- 
ments creditably,  but  at  length  misfortune  over- 
took him.  He  had  sung  at  the  "Free  and  Easy'* 
on  Saturday  night  and  had  gotten  through  the 
morning  service  with  credit.  The  eloquence  of 
the  preacher  lulled  him  into  a  profound  slumber, 
and  all  through  the  sermon  he  was  dreaming  of 
the  concert  hall  and  the  jolly  crowd  assembled 
to  hear  him  render  his  great  song  of  "Muldoon.'* 
The  sermon  over  he  was  aroused  from  his  slumber 
by  a  fellow  member  of  the  choir,  who  whispered 
that  they  were  waiting  for  his  solo.  Still  half 
asleep,  and  with  his  head  yet  full  of  the  saloop 
and  the  applause  awaiting  him,  he  staggered  to 

194 


CHICAGO 

the  choir  rail,  looking  about  him,  broke  out  Ins* 
tily: 

**Come  and  see  me,  I'll  trate  ye  decent,, 
I'll  make  ye  drunk;  I'll  fill  yer  can, 
Sure,  when  I  walk  the  strate, 
Says  each  one  I  mate. 
There  goes  Muldoon;  he's  a  solid  man.** 

The  reader  may  picture  to  himself  the  sensation 
the  tenor's  solo  produced  in  the  church. 

The  recklessness  with  which  the  churches  rush 
into  debt  is  appalling.  No  other  class  of  real  es- 
tate in  Chicago  is  so  heavily  incumbered  as  that 
of  religious  associations;  and  this  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  no  sort  of  property  has  a  more  uncer- 
tain tenure  of  its  income,  the  whole  depending,  in 
a  large  measure,  on  the  popularity  of  the  minis- 
ters, and  the  good  will  and  prosperity  of  the 
members.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  debt  thus 
created,  is  for  the  enlargement  of  the  churches  or 
constructing  new  ones.  Scarcely  any  of  the  con- 
gregations go  into  debt  for  the  purpose  of  increas- 
ing the  minister's  salary,  or  to  enlarge  the  con- 
tributions  to  missionary  funds  or  charitable  enter* 


195 


CHICAGO 

prises.  All  is  for  show.  Old  fashioned,  comfort- 
able churches,  free  from  debt,  are  torn  down  or 
sold,  and  new  edifices,  rich  and  costly  in  every 
detail,  are  erected.  A  little  money  is  advanced, 
the  church  plastered  over  with  mortgages,  and  the 
next  generation  left  to  pay  for  the  vanity  of  the 
present.  Sometimes  the  mortgages  are  paid,  but 
too  often  the  reverse  is  the  case.  The  mortgage 
is  foreclosed,  the  beautiful  temple  is  sold,  and  per 
haps  is  converted  into  a  theatre,  concert  hall  or 
factory. 

So  handsome  are  the  churches,  as  a  rule,  so 
conspicuously  do  wealth  and  fashion  thrust  them- 
selves forward  on  all  sides,  that  the  poor  rarely 
seek  them.  They  are  too  fine,  and  the  pride  of 
the  honest  poor  man  will  not  permit  him  to  take 
his  place  in  a  house  of  worship  where  he  is  cer- 
tain to  be  looked  coldly  upon,  and  made  to  feel 
his  lack  of  wordly  goods. 

Fashion  and  wealth  rule  with  iron  hands,  even 
in  the  house  of  God,  and  in  these  gorgeous  tem- 
ples, the  class  who  were  nearest  and  dearest  to 
the  Master's  heart,  have  no  place.  But  what  have 
the  churches  to  fear?  Are  they  not  strong  in  the 
power  of  God? 


196 


Concert  Saloons  and 
Damnation 

The  concert  saloons  are  among  the  worst  fea- 
tures of  the  social  evil.  They  flourish  in  almost 
every  quarter  of  the  city,  and  are  so  many  places 
where  the  devil's  work  is  done.  The  better  class 
of  citizens  are  helpless  to  abate  the  nuisance.  The 
vipers  in  human  form,  who  keep  these  soul- 
destroying  places,  are  men  so  small  in  principle, 
that  their  paltroon  souls  would  rattle  in  the  eye- 
balls of  the  most  infinitesimal  animalculae  that 
ever  infested  a  stagnant  mud-hole.  These  are  the 
men  the  city  authorities  allow  to  continue  their 
nefarious  business,  against  the  wish  of  a  majority 
of  property  owners  of  Chicago.  Woe  betide  a 
mayor  or  chief  of  police  who  will  deliberately  ig- 
nore requests  for  decency  on  the  one  hand,  as 
against  immorality  on  the  other. 

These  concert  saloons  provide  a  low  order  of 
music,  and  the  liquors  furnished  are  of  the  vilest 


197 


CHICAGO 

description.  In  former  days  the  service  of  the 
place  was  rendered  by  young  women;  many  of 
whom  were  dressed  in  tights  and  all  sorts  of 
fantastic  costumes;  the  chief  object  being  to  dis- 
play the  figure  as  much  as  possible.  The  girls 
were  hideous  and  unattractive,  and  were  foul- 
mouthed  and  bloated.  The  visitors  were  princi- 
pally young  men,  and  even  boys,  though  older 
men,  and  even  gray  heads,  were  sometimes  seen 
among  them.  The  women  are  prostitutes  of  the 
lowest  order.  They  encourage  the  visitors  to 
drink,  shamelessly  violate  every  rule  of  propriety, 
and  generally  ready  to  rob  a  visitor  who  is  too 
far  gone  in  liquor  to  protect  himself.  These  places 
are  frequented  by  all  classes  of  society,  from  th« 
lowest  dregs  to  men  and  women  who  claim  re- 
spectability, and  occasionally  a  man  and  his  fam- 
ily are  seen  in  these  places.  Euflfains,  bent  on 
robbery,  keep  a  close  watch  on  the  visitors,  and 
when  one  of  the  latter,  overcome  with  liquor, 
staggers  out  of  the  place,  follow  him,  lure  him 
into  a  back  street,  rob  him,  and  if  necessary  to 
their  safety,  murder  him.  Oftentimes  they  lure 
their  helpless  victims  to  the  river  front,  and  there 
rob  and  kill  him,  and  throw  his  body  into  th« 


198 


CHICAGO 

water,  where  it  is  found  by  the  harbor  police. 

The  dance  halls  are  often  handsome  places,  but 
were  simply  rendezvous  of  street  walkers,  and 
men  who  came  to  seek  their  company.  The  pria- 
cipal  establishment  of  this  kind  was  the  infamous 
Apollo  theatre  and  dance  hall,  previously  men- 
tioned. AU  were  admitted  free.  We  enter 
through  a  lobby  into  bar-room,  back  of  which  is 
the  dance  hall.  The  place  was  furnished  with 
tables,  and  chairs  are  scattered  about  the  sides 
of  the  first  floor,  but  the  central  space  is  kept  clear 
for  dancing.  The  galleries  are  also  provided  with 
tables  and  chairs.  At  the  back  is  a  dimly  lighted 
space,  fitted  up  like  a  garden,  where  those  who 
desire  may  sit  and  drink.  The  place  was  always 
well  filled.  The  women  present  were  the  inmates 
of  the  neighboring  houses  of  ill-fame,  and  street 
walkers.  Each  one  is  a  prostitute,  and  each  one  is 
intent  upon  luring  some  man  into  her  chamber. 
The  men  are  mostly  young,  but  on  "gala-nights" 
and  during  the  "balls"  which  were  given  here  in 
the  winter  of  1877,  would  cause  the  givers  of  the 
First  Ward  annual  ball  to  turn  green  with  envy. 
An  orchestra  in  the  gallery  opposite  the  entrance 
provides  the  music,  and  the  dance  is  on.    The  air 


199 


CHICAGO 

is  heavy  with  tobacco  smoke.  Men  and  women 
are  constantly  passing  in  and  out;  drinking  is 
going  on  in  every  part  of  the  hall.  In  spite  of  its 
brilliancy  and  splendor,  the  place  is  but  one  of 
the  numerous  gateways  to  hell,  with  which  Chi- 
cago abounds. 

Men  meet  abandoned  women  here,  and  accom- 
pany them  to  their  houses,  risking  disease,  rob- 
bery, and  even  death,  with  a  recklessness  that  is 
appalling.  Young  men  of  respectable  families 
come  here  nightly,  and  spend  hours  in  company 
with  these  abandoned  women  who  frequent  the 
place.  These  same  young  men  would  shrink 
with  fastidious  horror  from  even  a  moment's  con- 
versation with  the  cooks  and  housemaids  of  their 
own  homes.  Yet  here  they  find  pleasure  in  the 
association  with  women  equally  as  ignorant  and 
unrefined  and  in  every  way  unworthy  to  compare 
with  the  honest  and  virtuous  maids  of  their  homes. 

A  great  deal  of  immorality  is  carried  on  in  the 
city  of  which  the  police  cannot  take  cognizance, 
and  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  statistics. 
This  grade  of  vice  is  confined  largely  to  persons 
of  normal  respectability.  The  columns  of  certain 
city    journals    contain    numerous   personals    by 


200 


CHICAQO 

which  appointments  are  made,  and  communicap 
tions  exchanged  between  persons  engaged  in  in- 
trigues. These  people  support  the  numerous  as- 
signation houses  which  abound  in  the  city.  Some 
of  the  most  fashionable  are  furnished  and  owned 
by  men  of  respectability.  They  put  a  woman  in 
charge  of  the  house,  and  share  the  large  receipts 
with  her. 

Great  efforts  are  being  made  by  benevolent 
people  to  lessen  the  amount  of  vice  with  which 
the  metropolis  is  cursed.  The  problem  is  fearful 
to  behold.  The  most  successful  of  these  various 
means  that  have  been  adopted  to  rescue  fallen 
women  from  their  wretched  lives,  are  the  mis- 
sions. They  are  open  to  all  who  seek  refuge  in 
them,  and  invitations  are  scattered  among  them 
ty  agents.  The  women  are  treated  with  kindness, 
and  encouraged  to  reform.  They  come  voluntar- 
ily, and  leave  when  they  wish  to  do  so.  They  are 
always  welcomed,  however  often  they  may  wan- 
der back  into  sin.  "Until  seventy  times  seven," 
is  the  role. 


201 


Divorces 


n  70U  watch  the  daily  papers  you  will  fre- 
quently see  advertisements  reading  similar  to  the 
following : 

Divorces  without  publicity,  in  30  days,  all  causei;  erery 
■tate;    consultation    free;    experienced    lawyers;    auccMa 

guaranteed.     86  street, 

SMITH,  JONES  &  CO. 

Divorces  cheaply,  without  publicity;  desertion,  incoia- 
patibility,  non-support,  intemperance,  compulsory  mar- 
riages;  any  state;   explanatory   blanks  free,   always  sue- 

eessful;  consultations  free;   confidential.     105  St. 

LAWYER  SMOOTH   TONGUE. 

The  divorce  lawyer  is  a  prolific  sort  of  a  fel- 
low, and  somewhat  of  a  nuisance.  No  self-respect- 
ing attorney  cares  for  divorce  court  practice.  It 
is  considered  by  attorneys  of  established  reputa- 
tion to  be  degrading. 

The  divorce  lawyers  announce  to  the  public 
that  they  have  powerful  influence  with  the  judges 
and  that  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  for  them  to 
secure  a  divorce  for  the  unlucky  man  or  woman 
and  that  they  can  untie  the  marriage  knot,  and 
the  guarantee  to  do  it  with  the  ease  and  eeleri^ 


208 


CHICAGO 

with  which  it  is  tied.  This  would  seem  strange 
in  a  state  where  the  laws  regulating  divorce  are 
so  rigid;  but  the  divorce  lawyer  knows  how  to 
set  even  these  at  defiance,  and  that  his  efforts  are 
successful  is  shown  by  the  handsome  income  he 
enjoys  and  the  elegant  style  in  which  he  lives. 
He  does  not  rely  upon  Chicago  alone  for  his  field 
of  operation ;  some  states  are  more  liberal  in  this 
matter,  and  if  the  separation  of  husband  and  wife 
cannot  be  procured  in  Chicago,  he  can  easily  ae- 
eomplish  it  in  some  other  part  of  the  Union. 

The  divorce  lawyer  devotes  himself  to  this 
branch  of  his  profession  almost  exclusively.  He 
is  sometimes  an  ex-member  of  the  Bar,  who  has 
been  disbarred  for  dishonest  practices,  and  can- 
not appear  directly  in  the  case  himself.  He  hires 
some  shyster  lawyer  to  go  through  the  formalities 
of  the  courts  for  him,  and  sometimes  succeeds 
in  inducing  a  lawyer  of  good  standing  to  act  for 
him.  His  office  is  usually  in  the  quarter  most 
frequented  to  by  practitioners  of  standing,  and  is 
located  in  some  large  building,  so  that  his  clients 
may  come  and  go  without  attracting  special 
notice.  The  outer  office  is  fitted  up  in  regular 
legal  style,  with  substantial  desks  and  tables,  and 


204 


CHICAGO 

the  walls  are  lined  with  cases  of  law  books.  The 
private  consultation  room  is  elegantly  furnished, 
and  is  provided  with  the  coziest  arm-chairs,  in 
which  the  clients  can  sit  at  their  ease,  and  pour 
into  the  sympathizing  ears  of  the  "counsellor** 
their  tales  of  woe. 

Let  us  seat  ourselves,  unseen,  in  the  private  of- 
fice of  a  leading  divorce  firm.  They  are  located  in 
&  superb  building  on  La  Salle  street  and  have  ele- 
gantly fitted  up  apartments.     Counsellor  , 

the  head  of  the  firm,  conducts  the  consultations. 
He  is  a  portly,  smooth-faced,  oily-tongued  man, 
possessing  great  powers  of  cheek  and  plausive- 
ness,  just  the  man  to  lead  a  hesitating  client  to 
take  the  decisive  step.  A  clerk  from  the  outer 
office  announces  a  visitor.  A  richly  dressed, 
closely  veiled  lady  is  shown  in  and  the  portly 
counsellor,  rising  courteously,  places  a  chair  for 
her.  The  seat  is  taken,  the  veil  thrown  back,  and 
the  counsellor  finds  himself  face  to  face  with  a 
woman  of  beauty  and  refinement,  and  evidently 
of  wealth — a  most  desirable  client.  In  his  bland- 
est tones  he  invites  her  to  state  the  nature  of  her 
business  with  him.  Then  follows  a  long  tale  of 
domestic  unhappiness,  the  sum  and  substance  of 


205 


CHICAGO 

which  is  that  she  is  tired  of  her  husband  and 
wants  a  divorce  from  him. 

"Upon  what  grounds,  Madam?"  asks  the  coua- 
aellor,  settling  down  to  business. 

"Grounds?"  is  the  startled,  hesitating  reply. 
"Why — t — hat  is — I  am  so  unhappy  with  him.** 

"Is  he  unfaithful  to  you?" 

**I  do  not  know.  I  hope  he  is — ^I  am  afraid  not, 
however.  I  thought  you  would  ascertain  for  me." 
"Certainly,  madam,  certainly.  Nothing  easier  in 
the  world.  We'll  find  out  all  about  him.  We'll 
learn  the  innermost  secrets  of  his  heart,  and  I've 
no  doubts  we  shall  find  him  grossly  unfaithful. 
Most  men  are." 

"Oh,  not  at  all,  sir,"  the  lady  cries,  a  little 
startled.    "I'm  sure  that " 

Good  sense  comes  to  her  aid,  and  she  pauses. 
She  must  not  tell  all,  even  to  her  "legal  adviser." 
The  counsellor  smiles ;  he  has  seen  such  cases  be- 
fore. It  is  only  an  affair  of  exchanging  an  old 
love  for  a  new  one. 

"Has  he  ever  maltreated  you — struck  yonT" 
he  asks. 

"Oh,  no!" 

"Never  attempted  any  violence  with  you?" 


206 


CHICAGO 

"He  once  seized  a  paper  weight  on  the  library- 
table,  very  much  excited,  while  I  was  talking  with 
liim." 

"Indeed!  he  tried  to  dash  your- brains  out  with 
a  paper  weight,  did  he?  That  is  very  important 
•yidence,  madam,  very  important. ' ' 

"But,  sir,  I  did  not  say  that  he '* 

"Oh,  never  mind,  madame,  "Wives  are  too  ready 
to  forgive  their  husband's  brutality.  The  fact 
remains  the  same,  however.  This  infamous  at- 
tempt upon  your  life  will  be  sufficient  evidence 
with  the  western  judge  before  whom  the  case  will 
be  tried.  I  congratulate  you,  madame,  upon  the 
prospect  of  a  speedy  release  from  such  a  mon- 
ger." 

The  woman  is  delighted,  pays  the  retainer, 
which  is  a  handsome  one,  agrees  upon  the  amount 
to  be  paid  when  the  divorce  is  granted,  and  the 
parties  separate,  mutually  pleased  with  each 
other. 

The  counsellor  now  goes  to  work  in  earnest. 
Operations  are  carried  on  in  some  western  state. 
Witnesses  are  provided  who  will  swear  to  any- 
thing they  are  paid  for;  the  divorce  is  duly  ob- 
tained; the  fee  is  paid;  and  the  madame  coollj 


207 


CHICAGO 

int'orms  her  husband  that  they  are  no  longer  hxts^ 
band  and  wife. 

A  year  or  two  ago  the  Chicago  paper  contained 
an  account  of  a  man  who  had  gotten  one  of  these 
patent  divorces  from  his  wife.  Not  caring  to  part 
from  her  just  then,  but  wishing  to  do  so  when  he 
pleased,  he  locked  the  papers  up  in  his  desk,  and 
said  nothing  to  her  about  the  matter,  and  for  ten 
years  she  lived  with  him  as  his  mistress,  in  total 
ignorance  of  her  true  relations  to  him.  At  last 
becoming  tired  of  her,  he  produced  the  decree  of 
divorce  and  left  her. 

All  sorts  of  people  seek  the  assistance  of  the 
divorce  lawyers  to  free  them  from  their  matri- 
monial ties.  Extravagant  and  reckless  wives  of 
men  who  are  not  able  to  meet  their  demands  for 
money ;  dissolute  actresses,  who  wish  to  break  up 
an  old  alliance  in  order  to  form  a  new  one;  mar- 
ried women  who  have  become  infatuated  with 
some  scamp  they  have  met  at  the  theatre  mati- 
nee, or  through  the  medium  of  a  personal;  mar- 
ried men  who  are  tired  of  their  wives  and  desire 
to  be  united  to  a  new  partner ;  lovers  of  married 
women,  who  come  to  engage  fabricated  testimony 
and  surreptitious  divorce  for  the  frail  creatorM 


208 


OHICAQO 

whose  virtue  is  still  too  cowardly  to  dare  th« 
more  honest  sin ;  all  who,  with  or  without  protest^ 
eeek  a  release  from  the  married  bond.  For  each 
and  all  the  divorce  lawyer  has  a  ready  ear  and  an 
encouraging  word.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  ob- 
tain a  divorce,  he  assures  them.  If  the  cause  as* 
signed  by  them  is  insufficient,  it  can  be  made 
strong  enough;  if  evidence  is  lacking,  it  can  be 
obtained — manufactured,  if  necessary.  He  re- 
ceives a  retainer  from  each,  and  all,  and  sends 
them  away  with  the  happy  consciousness  that 
their  matrimonial  troubles  will  soon  be  over. 

A  divorce  costs  anywhere  from  twenty-five  dol- 
lars to  whatever  sum  the  applicant  is  willing  to 
pay  for  it,  and  can  be  obtained  in  Chicago,  or  in 
any  state,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the  party 
and  the  desire  to  avoid  publicity.  Any  cause  may 
be  assigned ;  the  lawyer  in  a  great  many  instances 
guarantees  that  the  evidence  to  support  it  shall 
be  forthcoming  at  the  proper  time.  It  is  a  little 
more  troublesome  to  obtain  a  Chicago  divorce, 
than  in  some  states,  but  the  machinery  of  the  law 
is  sufficiently  loose  even  there  to  enable  a  well- 
managed  case  to  be  successful.  The  divorce  law- 
yer has  witnesses  upon  whom  he  can  depend,  some 


209 


CHICAGO 

of  them  are  regularly  in  his  pay.  They  will  swear 
as  they  are  instructed.  The  proceedings  are  often 
private,  the  courts  using  their  private  chambers 
for  the  hearing,  and  are  no  doubt  frequently  in 
oollusion  with  the  lawyer  conducting  the  case. 
Even  the  newspapers  fail  to  record  the  occur- 
rence. The  defendant  has  been  kept  in  ignorance 
of  the  proceedings,  and  naturally  does  not  appear 
in  court  in  person  or  by  counsel  to  offer  any  ob- 
position,  and  the  case  goes  by  default.  The  judge 
hears  the  evidence,  which  has  been  carefully  pre- 
pared, in  the  case ;  submits  a  decision  in  favor  of 
the  plaintiff;  and  the  first  thing  the  defendant 
knows  is  a  dissolution  of  the  marriage. 

Adultery  is  a  favorite  ground  with  the  divorce 
lawyer,  and  strange  as  it  may  appear,  it  is  easy  to 
fasten  such  a  charge  upon  the  defendant,  if  that 
person  happens  to  be  the  husband.  This  is  how 
it  is  done :  One  of  the  *  *  agents ' '  of  the  firm  makes 
the  acquaintance  of  the  husband,  who  is  in  total 
ignorance  of  the  plot  against  him,  and  after  be- 
coming somewhat  familiar  with  him,  invites  him 
to  a  quiet  little  supper  at  some  convenient  restau- 
rant. When  the  wine  has  done  its  work,  a  party 
•f  ladies  drop  in,  quite  by  accident,  of  course. 


210 


CHICAGO 

and  are  pressed  by  the  agent  to  remain.  The  in- 
nocent victim  joins  in  the  request;  he  would  be 
an  ill-bred  fellow  if  he  did  not.  A  dead  set  is 
made  at  the  victim,  whose  wits  are  generally 
■omewhat  confused  with  the  wine,  and  the  nat- 
ural consequences  follow.  The  "agent"  coolly 
looks  on,  and  takes  his  notes,  and  the  particular 
beauty  who  has  won  over  the  victim  to  her  charms 
becomes  an  important  witness  in  the  case.  There 
is  no  difficulty  in  proving  the  charge. 

"Where  the  husband  is  a  jolly,  good-natured 
man,  and  loves  to  take  his  pleasure,  the  "agent's" 
business  is  greatly  simplified.  He  has  but  to 
shadow  his  victim,  note  down  his  acts,  even  his 
words,  for  the  most  innocent  deed  can  be  distorted 
by  a  shrewd  divorce  lawyer  into  damaging  evi- 
dence of  guilt.  The  least  imprudence  is  magnified 
into  sin,  and  little  by  little  all  the  needed  evidence 
is  obtained. 

Sometimes  all  these  arts  fail.  Then  the  lawyer 
has  but  one  course,  to  employ  paid  witnesses  to 
■wear  to  the  husband's  guilt,  where  no  overt  act 
has  been  committed.  The  divorce  must  be  ob- 
tained at  any  cost ;  and  the  lawyer  knows  no  such 
word  as  failure. 


211 


CHICAGO 

Sometimes  business  becomes  dull.  People  ap- 
pear to  be  satisfied  with  their  partners,  and  appli- 
cations for  divorce  fall  off.  The  divorce  lawyer 
is  equal  to  the  emergency,  however,  and  sets  his 
agents  to  work  to  drum  up  business.  They  pro- 
ceed upon  a  regular  system,  and  seek  high  game. 
They  operate  among  persons  able  to  pay  large 
fees,  and  seek  women  as  their  victims  in  prefer- 
ence to  men.  A  member  of  the  Bar,  conversing 
with  a  friend,  not  long  since,  thus  explained  the 
system  pursued: 

"You  understand,  of  course,  that  society  is  not 
happy  in  all  its  honors.  All  the  brownstone 
houses  have  to  have  closets  put  in  every  year  in 
order  to  accommodate  the  skeletons.  Still,  many 
a  woman  and  man,  if  let  alone,  would  bear  his  or 
her  connubial  burdens  meekly,  rather  than  to  face 
the  scandal  and  publicity  of  a  divorce  trial.  Our 
special  divorce  lawyers  know  this,  and  so  they 
invade  society.  They  transfer  the  base  of  opera- 
tions to  the  drawing  rooms.  How?  By  using 
swell  members  of  the  fashionable  world  to  first 
find  out  where  there  is  a  canker  in  the  case,  and 
then  to  deftly  set  forth,  in  a  perfect  way,  how 
divorce  is  the  only  "cure."    Nine  tenths  of  this 


212 


OHIOAQO 

delicate  business  is  employed  in  pursuing  hesi- 
tating wives.  Husbands  could  hardly  be  ap- 
proached in  their  own  homes  with  a  proposition 
to  break  them  up.  Take  an  impressionable  wom- 
an, already  unhappy,  who  has  once  been  thinking 
of  divorce,  and  the  case  is  different.  She  is  clay 
for  the  moulder.  The  serpent  whispers  how  nice 
it  will  be  to  bank  her  alimony,  tells  her  lies  about 
the  old  man,  induces  her  to  believe  that  the  firm 
down-town  will  put  in  no  bill  if  they  don't  suc- 
ceed, and  so  the  affair  is  arranged. 

For  this  despicable  service  the  "agent"  receives 
ten  per  cent  of  the  fee  paid  the  divorce  lawyer  by 
the  wife,  which  fee,  be  it  remembered,  comes  out 
of  the  husband's  pocket. 

Oftentimes  the  "agent**  is  called  upon  to  per- 
sonate the  husband,  especially  in  serving  the  sum- 
mons of  the  court  upon  him.  The  lawyer  in 
charge  has  the  case  quietly  put  on  record  in  the 
proper  court,  and  has  a  summons  prepared  for 
service  upon  the  defendant.  A  boy  is  called  in 
from  the  street,  anybody  will  answer,  and  is  paid 
a  trifle  to  take  the  summons  to  the  defendan't 
place  of  business  or  residence,  and  deliver  it  t« 
him  in  person.    Arriving  at  his  destination,  tbo 


213 


CHICAGO 

boy  is  met  by  the  "agent"  of  the  divorce  lawyer, 
at  the  door  or  on  the  steps.  The  agent  sharply 
demands  his  business,  and  is  answered  by  the 
boy  that  he  wishes  to  deliver  a  paper  to  Mr.  X — . 
"I  am  Mr.  X—."  The  boy  in  perfect  good  faith, 
for  he  has  never  seen  Mr.  X —  in  his  life,  delivers 
the  summons  upon  the  defendant  in  person.  He 
is  then  dismissed,  and  plays  no  further  part  in  the 
case.  His  affidavit  is  sufficient  for  this  part  of 
the  proceedings,  and  the  shameful  mockery  of 
justice  proceeds  to  another  stage. 

This  is  no  exaggerated  description.  The  aets 
of  these  divorce  lawyers  are  well  know  in  Chi- 
cago, and  members  of  the  Bar  are  familiar  with 
their  mode  of  proceeding.  Reputable  barristers 
denounce  them  as  a  disgrace,  not  only  to  the  pro- 
fession, but  also  the  judges  on  the  bench  know 
these  men  by  their  ways.  Yet,  neither  the  Bench 
nor  the  Bar  Association  make  any  effort  to  stop 
the  evil  or  disbar  the  wretches,  who  thus  prey 
upon  the  most  sacred  relations  of  life.  Lawyers 
of  standing  are  afraid  to  attempt  to  bring  it  to 
justice,  lest  they  should  draw  upon  themselves 
the  vengeance  of  the  courts  and  so  injure  thw 


814 


CHICAGO 

own  professional  prospects.  So  the  evil  will  con- 
tinue to  grow.  It  will  flourish  as  long  as  there 
are  foolish  people  to  take  advantage  of  it. 


2W 


Tramps'  Paradise 

Chicago  is  the  paradise  of  tramps,  the  term  i^ 
generally  applied  to  able  bodied  men  and  women 
who  are  too  lazy  to  work,  but  prefer  to  pick  up  a 
precarious  living  by  begging  food  and  clothes 
from  house  to  house.  In  mild  weather  they  sleep 
in  the  parks  and  public  squares,  and  in  winter 
take  refuge  in  the  police  stations.  During  the 
warm  season  they  leave  the  city  in  large  numbers, 
and  wander  through  the  country,  going  into  many 
states,  but  in  winter  they  flock  back  to  Chicago, 
where  they  are  sure  of  food  and  shelter.  Some  re- 
main in  the  city  throughout  the  year.  They  are 
dissipated  as  a  rule,  and  the  majority  have  been 
brought  to  their  present  condition  because  of 
drink. 

They  will  steal  and  even  commit  highway  rob- 
bery, rape,  or  murder,  if  they  get  a  chance,  and 
are  a  terror  to  householders  of  the  city.  They 
hannt  the  beer  saloons  and  low  class  bar-rooms, 
beg  for  drinks,  and  will  even  drain  the  few  drops 

srr 


CHICAGO 

left  in  the  empty  beer  kegs  in  the  sidewalk.  They 
will  solicit  passers-by  for  money,  and  in  this  way 
often  manage  to  collect  enough  to  buy  whisky  or 
beer.  Their  food  they  beg  at  the  doors  of  resi- 
dences, keeping  a  sharp  lookout  all  the  while  for 
an  opportunity  to  steal  something  of  value  when 
the  servant's  back  is  turned. 

The  parks  are  the  favorite  lodging  places  with 
them  in  warm  weather.  Under  cover  of  darkness 
they  creep  into  the  shrubbery  and  make  their 
beds  on  the  grass.  Sometimes  they  sleep  on  the 
benches  scattered  throughout  the  grounds,  but  as 
they  are  apt  to  be  disturbed  by  the  police,  they 
prefer  the  shrubbery. 

The  more  fortunate  tramps  patronize  the  cheap 
lodging  houses,  which  are  very  numerous  in  some 
portions  of  the  city.  In  some  of  these  places  a 
bed  may  be  obtained  for  five  cents. 

Some  of  the  more  aristocratic  places  charge 
ten  cents,  and  each  occupant  is  furnished  with 
food  in  the  morning.  Nightly  scores  of  men  and 
boys  apply  for  lodging  at  the  police  stations. 

Many  deserving  persons  are  classed  among  the 
tramps.  They  are  friendless,  homeless,  and  with- 
out money  or  work  and  must  adopt  the  tramp's 


818 


CHICAGO 

life  in  order  to  maintain  existence.  Such  per- 
sons gladly  accept  any  work  offered  them,  and 
escape  from  the  wretched  companionship  as  soon 
as  they  are  able  to  do  so. 

It  is  easy  to  distinguish  them  from  the  genuine 
tramps,  however,  for  they  are  eager  to  work, 
while  the  tramp  pure  and  simple,  regards  an  ofk«r 
of  labor  as  an  insult 


Theatres 

Good  and  Bad. 

In  nothing  does  Chicago  show  its  metropolitan 
character  more  strikingly  than  in  its  amusements. 
At  the  head  of  these  stand  the  theatres,  which  are 
very  numerous,  and  some  magnificent.  Among 
the  theatres  of  established  reputation,  are:  Mo- 
Vickers,  Powers,  Grand  Opera  House,  Auditorium, 
Illinois,  and  others,  which  enjoy  a  degree  of  sub- 
stantiality. Besides  these  there  are  a  number  of 
second-class  variety  establishments  and  several 
third-rate  theatres  in  different  parts  of  the  city. 
There  are  still  other  houses  which  are  vicious  and 
should  be  closed  by  the  police.  These  places  have 
no  rating  for  decency  and  are  pitfalls  to  the  un- 
sophisticated visitors  in  the  city.  Burlesque  is  the 
principal  amusement  here,  and  is  of  the  lowest 
order.  Absolute  indecency  reigns  supreme.  The 
performers,  mostly  women  of  the  underworld,  are 
paid  to  amuse  the  audiences  by  kicking  up  their 


CHICAGO 

heels — ^the  higher  they  kick  the  more  they  are 
paid.  The  "hooche-cooche"  and  the  "Salome" 
dances  are  here  given  in  all  their  rottenness.  Vul- 
gar sayings  and  gestures  are  indulged  in  to  a  de- 
gree that  is  amazing  in  this  enlightened  age.  The 
theatres  which  provide  this  class  of  entertainment 
are  liberally  supported  by  all  classes  of  men  and 
receive  an  immense  patronage  from  the  great 
throng  of  strangers  constantly  in  Chicago.  Old 
men  and  boys  of  tender  years  are  frequenters  of 
these  theatres,  and  here  and  there  may  be  found 
the  prostitute  seated  beside  some  young  boy.  The 
price  of  admission  is  low  and  the  performance 
suited  to  the  tastes  of  the  audience.  These  places 
have  saloons  attached  to  them  which  are  generally 
in  the  basements.  The  women  performers  are  re- 
quired to  drink  with  men,  and  solicit  them  boldly 
to  buy  drink  for  them.  It  is  a  common  thing  to 
see  these  girls  stupidly  drunk.  They  are  paid  a 
commission  on  all  drinks  purchased  through  their 
solicitation. 

The  galleries  of  these  establishments  are  filled 
chiefly  with  boot-blacks,  newsboys,  and  the  juve- 
nile denizens  of  the  city,  ranging  in  age  from 
eight  to  twelve  years.    The  orchestras  are  made 


221 


CHICAGO 

ap  of  amateurs  and  old  men,  and  furnish  a  eheap 
class  of  music. 

The  keepers  of  houses  of  ill-fame  need  no  bet- 
ter advertisement  than  the  cheap  burlesque  show- 
houses  of  Chicago.  The  baser  elements  in  man  are 
all  enacted  here  in  plain  view  of  the  audience  and 
winked  at  by  the  police.  Arrests  are  made,  and 
the  managers  pay  fines,  but  continue  the  same  im- 
moral productions. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  dramatic  estab- 
lishment Chicago  ever  had,  was  launched  in  the 
early  eighties.  It  was  known  as  "Grand  Duke's 
Theatre,"  or,  it  was  better  known  to  its  patronB 
as  "The  Grand  Books  Tlieatre."  It  began  its  ca- 
reer in  a  vacant  store  building  on  South  State 
street  in  a  very  humble  way ;  but  with  increasing 
prosperity  removed  to  more  suitable  quarters. 
The  prices  of  admission  were  as  follows :  Boxes, 
25  cents;  orchestra,  15  cents;  balcony,  10  cents; 
gallery,  5  cents.  The  establishment  was  managed 
and  controlled  by  boys  and  its  audiences  were 
composed  of  boys  and  young  men.  The  companj 
was  composed  of  youths  yet  in  their  teens,  and  the 
performances  were  of  the  "blood-and-thunder** 
order,  interspersed  with  "variety  acts"  of  a  start- 


822 


CHICAGO 

Kng  description.  The  house  and  appointments 
were  primitive,  and  the  stage  equally  so.  The 
orchestra  was  made  up  of  amateur  musicians,  and 
was  placed  out  of  sight  at  the  back  of  the  stage. 
The  footlights  consisted  of  six  kerosene  lamps 
with  glass  shades.  Two  red-plush  lounges,  stuffed 
with  saw-dust,  and  in  a  sad  state  of  dilapidation 
served  as  boxes;  while  the  orchestra  stalls  were 
represented  by  half  a  dozen  two-legged  benches, 
and  the  balcony  and  gallery  were  composed  of  a 
bewildering  arrangement  of  step  ladders  and  dry- 
goods  boxes.  The  manager  acted  as  his  own  po- 
liceman, and  enforced  order  by  knocking  the 
heads  of  disorderly  spectators  or  by  summarily 
ejecting  them.  The  performances  were  crude,  but 
they  satisfied  the  audiences,  and  never  failed  to 
draw  forth  a  storm  of  appiaus,  mingled  with  shrill 
whistles  and  stamping  of  feet.  The  boys  were 
■atisfied.    What  more  could  be  desired! 


223 


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